Ths publication intends to make the Darwin
Project known, iniciative which has been supported by two
institutioris: the Institute of International Studies of the University of Chile, and the National Commission for Scientific and
Technological Research, CONICYT.
The chief aim of the Darwin Project is to
gather those who forrn part of the international scientific
commrtunity ..especially those scientists beloqinq to the invitedparticipating countries- to the toil of commernoratinq Charles R.
Darwin on the 1509 anniversary of H.M.S. '3etigle's" voyage around
the world between the years 1831 and 1836.
on june 2, 1978 the Chilean Covernment established
the National Darwin Committee, whose achievement should be to carry
out the Darwin Project. However, the aims and the tasks of this
Committee wi].l be essentally academic and they wi].l be fremed iap
into the greatest observance of freedom of speech as well as the
most spontaneous iniciative of al .1 the institutions and individusis
participating in this undertaking. We hope that the careful r.adinq
of The Darwin Project will contribute to dissipate any doubt with
regard to the aboy e mentioned stateents.
The National Darwin Committee Executive Board
thanks CQNICYT and the Institute of International Studies for the
support already extended to its work. Without their generous help
the accouplishment of the CoMmittee should have been hardly
success ful.

find an answer to his pr.esent quest in the past. Thus, the anguiah
of the present is a constant stimulus to write our history -perhaps
with the tacit hope of finding a diffuse design of a curve which
aliows us to interpret better our present, and enable us to make a
valid forecast of the disquieting future.
Today, we are at a particulary criticâ&#x20AC;˘l moment
of our history; we have suddenly realized that we are temporary crew
members of a space ship -Earth- whose dimensions and loading capacity
are finite. But at the same time and here lies our anguish- we
perceive that we

know very

little of its care and maintenance. The

survival of our species depends froto this knowledge.
Our attitude towards historic past Ls in a certain
way conditioned by the sort of crisis we have had to endure. Romanticism
is proper to generatioris turmoiled by existential and identify conflicts.
Thus, historians tend to revive ideally a mythical past, a Golden Age.
This cannot be our attitude because our crucial situation certainly
demands to be met in a more dynaxnic and creative manner. Now, we have
to rescue what we have lost -or what we are about to lose which is no
other than the relationship man-nature, which is coherent with the
possibility of having a future as a Humanity, as a biological species.
In the forthcoming pages we shall try to explairi an
encounter with the past, and particularly, with a great man, -Charles
Darwin- with bis work, arid abo ye ah, with bis enormous capacity to
admire and understand nature and life. Essentially, what we want is to
board again an imaginary "Beagle" and try to recoristruct the scenery
lived, observed and described by the great English naturaltst. Wc hope
that the reading of what is so far the Darwin Pro5ect may be considered
as a cordial invitation to join us iri a conmon enterprise which is a
real challenge to overcome the crisis of the contemporary world.

E

1
1

E
1.
1.

A Journey Through Time
1. The journey of the H.M.S. t l Beagle hl (1831-1836)
The Departure
Qn the 27th day of Decembe:, a small brig of 242
Tons and ten cannons, under the command of Captain Robert
FitZ Roy R.N., sailed from Devenport, a small port near
Plymouth. Its mission was to continue the reconeissance
and drawing-up of hydrographic charts nf the South American
coasts, Flnd carry out longitude rneasurements in different
places of the Southern Hemisphere. This was not the first
"Beagle" was sea-bound carrying out
time that the
orclers of the British admiralty. 3etween 1826 and 1830 it
had already carried out similar tasks. During its fir5t
trip its sailors had discovered a charmel which they named
Beagle, in the ship's honor, and captured -in repraiBal for
certain thefts and other felonies- three natives of Tierra
del Fuego. They were Fueguia Basket, Jemmy Button and York
Minster, who were now returninq to their homes after a not
too happy stay in Great Britin. Under the expert scrutiny
of its captain, the ship had been submitted to changes artd
repair works which would allow it to withstand the perils
of navigation in the Southernmost seas. A third pole was
added so as to improve its maneuvering capacity, and four
of its cannorts were removed in order to increase its load.
p art of this load, aside from food and medicines, was a
great number of chronometers and preservatives for the
specimens which would be collected during the long voyage.
In spite of its youth, Captain Fitz Roy was
already an experienced sailor, expert in hydrography, and

2.
very forid of ah the arts and sciences of high navigation.
Extremely rigid regarding bis religiois convictions and bis
orofessional duties, the captain of the "Beagle" was
certainly not a man easy to get aJ.onq with, as far as bis
travelling companions were concerned. His aristocratic
background however -beirtg the grandchild of a Duke and
nephew of Lord CastJ.ereagh- mod',rated his irritable character
and his tendency to become angry easily. Robert Fitz Roy
was a pioneer of rnetereological studies, and later in his
life, becarne chief of the first official Eritish service
which gay e scientific weather predictions. After he was
riarned Governor of New Zealand, his uripredictable character
and tendency to consider a personal offense all opinions
contrary to bis own, made him fail in this high appointment.
His depressive personahity led him to commit suicide in 1865.
Tje Naturahist on Board of the "Beagle"
The expeditiort undertaken by the "Beagle" towards
the ertd of 1831 was not essentiahly different from the ones
which were carried out year after year by Her British Majesty
in all seas. The only difference, however, was the presence
of a young man aged twenty-three, amonq the seventy-four men
who made up the ship's crew. Among the crew were the already
rnentioned natives from Tierra del Fuego, a missionary, a man
in charge of instrurnents, an artist (Conrad Martins, who left
precise sketches of the visited regions, all of greatartjstjc
value) arid the servants of Fitz Roy and Charles Robert Darwin.
This yourig naturahjst embarked in the voyage spurred by Fitz
Roy. He defined himself as "extremely fond of geolocy and in
general, to all branches of Natural History".
Charles Darwin had receritly finished studies at

n

3.
Canbridge and, spurred by his father, had prepared to becoe
a good rural parson for the rest of his life, after failing
at Edinburgh's School of Medicine. Young Darwin showed to
be more prone to horseback riding ami hunting than to bookreading; however, he was gifted with en extraordinery
observation capacity, great patience artd a natural inclination
for collecting specimens. Such endowments permitted him to
become acquainted with John H. Henslow, professor of Botany
at Cambridge, who recommended him to Fitz Roy aa naturaliet.
Darwin had to overcome his father's opposition to such a
"worthless adventure" and decided to bertef it from this
opportunity to get acquainted with remote lands, and "collect,
observe and inform on any thing of value for Natural History".
Years later, whert referring to this voyage, Darwin had said,
"the voyage of the "Beagle" has been L'j far the most 1portant
event in my life and has determinad my whole carear". 11

Historical and Scientific Importance
of the "Beagle's" Expedition

During the four years, nine months, and two days
whieh lasted the voyage, Fitz Roy and his companions visitad
the Canary Islands,Green Cape Archipelago. Brazil, Uruguay,
Argentina, Chile, Perú, Galápagos Islands, Tahití, New Zealand,
Australia, Coconut Islands, Mauritius Islands, Santa Llena and
Ascensi6n of New Brazil, the Azores arid after having travelled

4.
around the world arrived back to England on October 2, 1836.
Froin the Adrniralty's point of view, the voyage
was considered a complete success. The "Beagle" carried back
to England no 1e95 than 82 views of different coast, 80
hydrographic charts and rnaps artd 40 mapa of the visited bayo
and ports, in addition to the innumerable longitude
measurements cerned out. Furthermore, between 1842 and 1846
Darwin, wrote three works ori the geological observationa during
the tnip. The first one of these works (and the rnost famous)
deals with the formatjon of coral reefs (The Structure
and
Distrjbutjon of Coral Reefa of 1842) in which he etates the
hypothesis -which has been proven true- that such reefs and
atolis had been formed on the fianks of volcarijc ยก*landa
which were in the proceso of sinking. The second of his works
dealt with the volcanjc islands (1844) and the third one on
geology of South America (1846).
Me.anwhile, sorne outstanding English naturalista
begari to classify and describe the species sent by Darwin to
England. The resu].ts of this work carried out by Sir Richard
Owen, Gould and Jenyns arnong others,were published in five
volumes (1840-1848) under the generic name of Zoology of the
Beagle. fi his work Antarctic Flora (1845) J. D. Hooker
catalogued sorne botanic species collected by Darwin. Darwin's
own observatjons as well as the careful reading of Sir Charles
Lyell's Principies of Geology (1830) began to weaken bis
religious beliefs during

his

voyage, but he preferred to keep
them silent in order to avoid conflicts between Fitz Roy and
himself.
No other book satisfjed Darwin as much as The
Voyage of the "Beagle". The constant demand of this book for

E
S.
over a century confrms it. The Vovage of the "Beagle" has
become a classic in the literature of adventure trips, both
because of its stile and o reat didactjc value, since it
Shows Lhe field work of a great nature1it. This work
resumes the contonts of the diary Darwin kept aboard the
hI Heagle t for almost five years, plus data, descriptions and
ohser'iatjons written ยกrito eighteen notebooks.
A first version was the third v c lurie of the work
called Narrative of the Surveying Voyages of is Majesty's
Ships "Adventure" and "Beagle" ... (1839) edited as the
official report on the Scientific cruis undertaken by the
"Beagle" and the "Adventure" betweeri 1826 and 1e36. The
volumes written by Fitz Roy and the former captain of the
"Adveriture", Philip Parker King, passed on inadvertedly by
the public, but Journdi arid tndLks, the volume written by
Darwin, became a book-store success. During 1H39 two more
printirigs were put in 4 o circulation and the final version
which was revised and completed by Darwin was published in
184 under the titie Journal of Researches Into the Natural
History and Geology of the Countries Visited During the
H.M.S. "Beagle" Round the World tJnder the Command of Captain
Fitz Ray R.N. Fortunately, the foliowin g editions clipped
it into a more simple and significant titl: -he Voyage of
the "Beagle"
AH such results wou].d have beeri sufficjent enouqh
to reward the great effort of the Adniiralty and tre "Beagle's"
crew. Nevertheless, the evidence collected during the voyage
and its use in the formulation of Darwiri's theory of the
origins and evolution of species is what lave the second voe
the historicl andintifj importanc ' nown to us todcfy. It

Li
---1

-

6.

is the opinion of a known specialist that "it was the vast
and changing panorama of life, both living end extinct,
observed by Darwin during the "Beagle's" cruise that set
him on the road to The origin of Species. 2/
By reading Lyell and ohserving the South American
iandscape, the young naturalist convinced himself that the
theory of the author of principies of Gcology was the correct
one; he knew that the physical characteristics of the planet
were the result of the action of geological forces acting
throughout great periods of time -incomparably longer than
the 4.004 years theologians assigned to Earth's history since
its creation. Because of this conviction, and by having
stated the right questions at the precise moment, Darwin was

abie to formulate his firet hypothesis on the existence of a
stock common to all species.
On September 15, 1835, the "Beagle" arrived at the
GalapagOs islands -the Enchanted Islands of the Spanish
Conquistadores located almost at the Equator une, approximately
600 Miles off coast. Based on the lecture of Lyell's work,
Darwin was looking for continuity and similarities axnong
living species as well as similarities between them and its
predecessor. Just as Lyell had explained geological
development through bis uniformist theory, in the sane way
Darwin wanted to explain the "successions of orgartic types",
both in space and time, by means of an equahly logical

and

hypothesis. During his stay in Patagonia he noticed that the
extinct species had been replaced by closely-related species,

7.
as shown for exrnple, in the surprising similarity between the
fossil of the gient "armadillo" found in the Pampa, and the
actual armadillo which scarcely carne up to one-tenth of the
corpulence of its predecesor. This made Darwin think that
he was facing different varieties which had a common ancestor
rather than different species.
when thc "eagle's' crew dis&mbarked in the
Galapagos Islarids, Darwin carne up to a more complex problem.
Up until that moment, 3outh American fauna and flora had
fitted within a frme which characterjstjc was a centinuity
in the variatiori of organic forrns, coinciding with gradual
changes of the envirorlinerit. However, the Galapagos Archipielayo was a radically different case; while the envronment
was essentially the same in all the islands, each one had a
djfferent -'ja and fduna. The dtffereL-tt zoological and
botartical varieties of the Galapagos undoubtedly seemed to be
related among them, and what was even more surprising, they
all reminded similar South American species. They were the
varieties whjch descended from a comnon stock. Thus, Darwin
saw his problern clearly; if he wanted to prove his hypothesjs
that the species existing today are the actual representatjves
of a genealogical tree whose roots disappear in the darkness
of time, then he would have to prove why species near in space
and time could be so different and why other species so distant
eographicahly and geologically could be so similar. "The
voyage of the "Beagle" had turned a courteous and scinewhat
indifferent youna man into an adult. This man, bestowed with
great perception and originality, gained fron this adventure
the oportunity of exercising h.ts talents in "armadillos" and
glyptodonts, stones and rocks which feli over and over in the

8.

currents of the Andes, turties and volcnos and birds' beaks.
Back in England he would put all these pieces together in a
new synthesis, and the world as a concept, would never be the
aine again".
All this had been possible because he had excavated
and discovered the carcass of en edentate, had witnessed how
the Andes pushed each other further up during an earthquake,
and because he had read Lyehl and Humboldt. The fundaments
of his ideas were so diverse as the pieces of the puzzle he
hadset up. Indeed, it could not have beert otherwise". 3/

2. The Long way Towards the origin of Species (1837-1859)
Darwin arid Exposing the Problem
In his Autohiography Darwin wrote: "On March 7,
1837, 1 took lodgings in great Marlborough Street in London
and remained there for nearly two years until 1 was married.
During these two years 1 finished my Journal, read several
papers befare the Geoloiรงal Society, began preparing the MS
for my Geological Observations and arranged for the
pubhication of the Zoology of the Voyage of the "Beagle". In
July 1 opened my first note-book for facts in relation to โขthe
Origin of Species, about which 1 had long reflected and never
ceased working on for the next twenty years". 41

Later, on rememhering that period of time when he
returned to England, Darwin said that as he was preparing the
Voyage of "Beagle" for publication he realized the enormous
amourt of fact: which indicated a stock cornmon to species.
In July 1837 1 Darwin hegan to work in his Origins
of Species using true "Baconian principies" -that is,
coilecting facts and more facts, hased on his ownexperience
or readings, without forrnulatincj any hypothesis. Darwin knew
perfectly that any theory on "transmutation of species"
should rest- for the sake of pubiic acceptance- on a solid
base of irrefutable evidence, partly due to the fact that
previous evoiutionist theories were completely discredited
(particularly the one proclaimed by Larnarck in his Zoological
Phiiosophy, 1809), and also because the last work on the
matter had been said by Cuvier through his catastrophist and
anti-evolutionary doctrine, which due to the author's prestige
had imposed itself in the intellectual and academic milieu of
France and Europe.
Just as important for Darwin was the conservative
spirit which prevailed in England at that time, and the
everlasting distrust of the more traditional sectors towards
men of science whom they regarded responsible of paving the
road to the French Revolution and its ravages, due to their
lmpious ideas. Qn the other hand, when Darwin returned,
England was living through the fear of strikes and popular
uprisings in its social context; and, from an intellectual
point of view, the rise of the so-called "Natural Theology",
whose foliowers believed that the study of nature was the
most adequate road to prove the goodrtess and existence of
the Creator. Charles Darwin knew that bis ideas could erode

4----4-------------

..---

-.-

_________

10.

sensibly this doctrine, and would not preciseiy help to caim
English conservatives. This preoccupied hirn about the
resuits of his work.
In Octol.er 1838, Darwin red and studied thoroughly
the Essay on the principie of population written in 1795 by
Robert Maithus. On that occasion he finaily found the
hypotheses he needed so much. He was already familiar with
the concept "struggle for survival" utilized previouiy by
Lyell and others to explain the situation in the animal and
veqetabie kingdoms. This process explained to Lyell the
extintion of so many species. Darwin, however, applied this
concept to the expianation of the appearance of new species.
What he had to explain, in the first place, was how new
varieties of plants and animais appeared, and in the second
place, why sorne of these varieties could survive at the
expense of its competitors. He then realized that given the
existence of such varieties, the struggle for survival was
won by the best fitted, through a process or mechanism which
Darwin narned very properiy natural selection, distinquishing
it from "artificial selection" practiced by breeders of
dornestic anirnais. Ori the other hand, Darwin knew perfectly
well the fact (already noted by Linneus) that in a determined
population there exists a great amount of varieties; this is
taken in advantage by the breeders so as to obtain through
crossbreeding more adequate samples for human benef it.
The "Theory of Descendancy Modified Through Variation and
Natural Selection"
The experience gained during the "Beagle's" voyage
gay e Darwin the necessary evidence to prove his theory.

1.1.

AccOrdiflg to it, there existed two factorS which acted
constantly on a determifled species: the physical enviroflrnefl
(climate, geornorphologi, soils, etc.) and the biological
(food, predators and cornpetitors). Qn the other
environrn
hand, in the beginning of his origir of SpeciĂ&#x2021;!, Darwin
points out the existerice of varieties within a species, which
are subrnitted to the action of the mentioned enviroruiiefltS, and
to the selective procesS originated by the struggle for
survival. Any change taken place in the physical environmeflt
causes qualitatiVe adaptation differerceS to appear arnong
existing varieties; sorne of these varieties (the less adapted)
will disappear, while others, better adapted to the new
environrnent, will survive. In this sense, if these difierences in the adaptatiofl ability are determined genetically,
gradual changes will be taken place t'oth in the genetic

this
contitUtiOfl of the species as well as in its forms. For
reason, C.H. WaddingtOfl defined this process which Darwin
called "natural selectiOn" as an inevitable consequenCe of
genetic aptitude variation. TherefOre, natural selection is
not an agent in the transformation of species, but a process
which arises naturally from a conditiofl pertair4flg to uve
beings.
TraflsfOrrfliSm caused by the natural selection proceSS
is added by Darwin to his convictiOn (based on paleontologY)
that there exists an evident progressiVefleSS in the successtve
and gradual changeS of specieS. "ThiS preservatiOfl of
favourable individual differenceS and variatioflS, and the
destructiOn of those which are injurioUS, 1 have called
Natural Selection, or the Survival of the FitteSt". 5/
Charles Darwin. The Origin of Species (New York, Mentor Book,
The New English Library Lirnited, 1958) p. 88.

12.
Transfoism and prog res g jveness are, then componert parts
of what we know as the evolution of species. Progressists
such as Herder and Cuvier were not tr ansformjsts. On the
other hand, a defjnjte transformjst such as Lasnarck, did
not value the evidences of organization progress in living
beings.
The Origin of Species and its Impact iri Science and Socletv
The majority of the already exponed ideas -which
constjtute the fundamental thought of D a rwinj sm...
were written
by Darwin in 1839. Haif-way through 1842, the English
OUts tandirig naturaljst wrote a brief sunmary of bis
theory which by 1844 had increased to 231 pages; however, the
publication of the final work had to Walt fifteen more yers
due to Darwjn's desjre to c4lect ti
reatest amount of
evjdence befare submitting bis manuscript to the printing
office. What caused the pu blication of The Origin of Species
was the letter writterz to Darwin by Alfredo Russe3. Wallace,
an English botanjst, communicating him that he had
formu].ated a theory Similar to bis own, working iTdependent1y,
unknowing of.Darwjn's works. Thanks to the intercessjon of
Lyell and Hooker, both agreed to read a work on the theory
of natural selection before the Linneus Society, on July 1,
1858.
In November 1959, The Origin of Species by Means
of Natural Selectjon of the Preservation of Favoured Races
in the Struggle for Life appeared on sale; the first edition
of 1250 sarnples was immediately soid out. 'bis spurred the
printing of six more editions until 1872. It has been said
that, aside from the Sible, no other work has been so
influeritjai -from whichever polnt of view- on contemporai

13.
thought.
Where lies the great irnportance attibuted to The
Origin of Species? Undoubtediy, its contents did not
flatter the nurnn race, arid it almost comlete1y deteriorated
the belief in a Creator of a known order. Furthermore,
Darwin's ideas attempted against the very fundaments of
scierice which postulated for an intelligible and ordered
universe. According to Darwin, the harmony of the living
was not the wise work of a Divine Archttect, but the product
of the action of natural forces. Darwin's universe is
disarrayed, chaotic, because it is undergoing constant
change. Neither has a purpose nor a final cause.
The contribution of The Origin of Species in the
achjevement of a valid expianation of the world of
organized beings has become undoubtedly the mostuniversaily
accepted principie in modern biology. In the first place, it
showed that previous theories (inciuding the Biblical
principie of creation) were in d efensible when faced with
evidence of organic rnutation. In the second place, the
existence of an evolutjve process was dernonstrated clearly
and convincingly, through a great amount of evidence showing
that existing organisms has not been created separate].y, and
had evoived graduaj.iy from prirnitive organisms. And last,
because it introduced the theory of natural selection, which
ai].ows a natural mechanjsm through which a transformation of
species can and must be produced. "Natural selectjon
rendered evolution scientifically intelligib].e: it was this
more than anything else which Convinced professional
biologjsts like Sir Joseph Hooker, T.H. Huxley and Ernst

14.
Haeckel". 6/ All in ah, what most impacted rehigious
feehings arid Victorian morality of those times was mari's
new place in nature. "Man could no longer be regarded as
the Lord of Creation, a being apart fron the rest of natura.
He was merely the representative of one ainong many Families
of the order p rimates in the class Mammalia". 7/ This was
oria of the most important causes of the irtdigriant reaction
against Darwin frorn a great part of society and Suropean and
American intellectuals. The president of the Liniversity of
Columbia declared in 1873 that if Darwir's theory were true
the existence of God would be impossible. If such was the
product of modern science, "give me then, 1 pray, no more
science. 1 wihl uve on in my simple ignorance, as my
faters did before me". 81 p rotestants and Catholics alike
criticized the materialism iniphicit i Origin. Indeed,
Darwin never denied the existence of a Supreme Creator, but,
as Lamarck, insisted that the appearance of life ir the
p].anet Earth and its subsequent branching in divergent forms
was the product of natural forces, which effect could be
expressed in laws similar to the ones which regulated the
order of stars and the movement of bodies. Already in 1842
he expressed his disbehief in the existence of "innumerable
acts of creation"; on the other hand, he claimed that
6/

15.
creatiort and extintion of species were "effects of secondary
cause.
The polernics between the representatives of the
Anglican Church and Darwinism reached drarnatic highlights in
the meeting organized by the British Association in Oxford
in June 1860. Durng one of the sessions, 3ishop Samuel
Wilberforce referred to Darwinian theory with little
knowledge arid a great deal of sarcasrn and irony. When he
finished his address he asked the lecturer who followed him
"whether was it through his grandfather or grandmother that
he claimed to descend frorn art ape". The lecturer who
followed after Bishop Wilberforce was no other than Thomas
H. Huxley, the most zealous and loyal defender of Darwin's
thought. He stated that Darwin's explanation of the origin
of species was excellent, artd proceeded to give the
audierice a brief summary of The Origin of Species at the .end
of lecture he said that he would not be ashamed at all in
descending from en ape, "but rather, he would be ashamed to
be related to a man (Wilberforce) who used his great quahities
to obscure and ridiculize truth" 9/. This was the first great
pubhic triumph of Darwinism.
The Catholic Church was rnuch more flexible and
tolerant whert faced with the onset of Evolutionjsm.
Although the tacit condemnation of the transformist theory
was implicit in the Syllabus pubhished in 1864 by Pope Pius
IX to oppose "progress, liberalism, and modern civihization",
9/

16.
the Catholic intellectuals couid read, discuss and even defend
freely the contents of The Origin of Species. The solution to
all possible controversy betweeri Catholic and evoiutionists
seems to he tr the ny' l e 1-ter 1'"an. Generis (1951) by
Pope Pius XII. It stated that the thory of evolution shouid
be examined and discussed by scientists and theoiogians as
weli -. at leat in the part pertaining to the hurrian body, which
according to this theory, would have evolved from pre-existent
organic matter. Nevertheless, Cathoiic faith obliges all its
behievers to believe and support that the soul of every man
has heen created by God.
It couid be asserted that rnorality, as well as
poltical ideologies, come from sourcos other than science.
HowĂŠver, the authority of scientific thought arid the force
of its rationahity is so strong that any idea or rnovement of
any class aspires to be "scientific" and obtain the approval
of science. The greatness and extent of Darwinian conception
of the living world made that critics and fohiowers see in the
theory of The Origin of Species the source of all disgraces
which flail the modern world, or, on the contrary, a doctrine
which rnade coherent efforts to irnprove contemporary society.
Herbert Spencer, the apostie of "social Darwinism", was among
the ones who outstood for his appiication of Darwinian ideas
to the construction of a modern concept in social science. In
bis book Creatiori and Cvolution, he formulated the basic
principies of an evolutionist ethics. According to these
principies, a moral conduct was one which contributed to the
best possihle adaptation of man to bis environment, thus
assuring a progressive evolution of the human genere. Since
happiness was also a result of satisfactory adaptaton,

--

17.
morality and happiness were ynoriirnou; e sser.tially, they

were ono thing.

Ledders of capitaljsrn and M a nchesterjan liberaljsm
also saw in The Origin of Species the intellectu
support
necessary for a lai3sezfajre and indjvidu1jst d octrine in
the realrn of husiness. on the other hand, sorne of Spencer's
discipies, such as the Nort hamerican,I.G. Surnrner, dec].ared
thernselveg against all social laws in benefit of the poor,
crippled and t less fitted" because the dictaton of such
laws perrnitted the survjval of the less fitted and went
against the vitality of rnodern civlizatjon.
Corimunjsm and positivism, two powerful ideolorijes
corlteTporary to The Origin of Species, saw in Darwinjan
theory a serious drawback to its cause. As is krtown,
posit j vjsm d j sdajned all efforts to co back to oriqins. Comte
has fought against Lamarck for this reason, and Littr& was
doing the same against Darwin in 1863 when he wrote that "we
were not in the oriçjirL of things and nieither shahl we be in
the end of things. Therefor p , we have no way of knowincj this
oriqin and this end". 10/

ifl the years that followed the appearance of The
Origmn of Species, sorne European rev olutionarjes behjeved to
see the theoretjcal frame of thejr poljtical action in
Darwin's work. The y were mostl y right because the English
naturalist asserted that the world of hivo organisms
constantly emerged from an evolutivo process and this
evolution was done through purelv material means. Everi Karl
10/ Marcel Prenant, in Darwin y el Darwinjsno. (México, D.F. Editorial
Grijalbo, S.A., 19 67)— P. 110.

.ts.

Cnqlish transietiOn of
Marx offered todedicate to Darwin the
Das 1(apital. Qn the other hand, the Germen pathologist

Rudolph wirchow, founder of cellular pathology, rejected the
theory of evolution beceuse he considered it "socia1iat' a*d
the
in 1877 attacked De.rwirl'S foliowers b1ning them for
DaVWini5
revolution. To this, ernst Haecel answered t1at

together as water and fire". Irideed,
and socialism "agreed
it is rather r ltfficult to see in Darwin.'s theory a valuabie
contributiort te the cause of Marx and his foliowers. They
began to criticize the sources of Darwinian thought,
criticizing
particularlY, the Essay on populaUon by ptalthus,
his theory on the divergence between demographic growth and
the growth of resources. To Marxism, any moderri technology
which permitted en overaiundanCe óf food and resources
Maithus and his ecolyte$.
discredited the somber forecasta of

possibly, the mejor theoretCal stumbling block
between Darwinism and MarxiSrn could be the result froin
comparing "evolutiofl" to "revolution" —there does not s
to be a possible agreement betweefl the two. UvtdoubtedlY,
both processeS act on the basis of struggle; for Darwin, the
struggle is between two individualS of a same species competthe different social
ing for survival; for Marx, it is axrtong
classes. In this last one, solidarity prevails within each
class; for Darwin, it is precisely there where the most
furious struggle takes place. Finaily, Marxjst theology
claims that class struggle becomes obsolete once the
establishment of CommufliSm is set, while to the evolutionists,
the struggle for survival is a permanent charecteriStic of
living organisraS.

fl
.9.
Gaps in Darwinian. Theory. Neo-DarwLnisn
It has been said that Dirwin had always ben an
aiat p ur, a naturaljst who, with methods of thc eiqhtonth
ceritury changed th concpt of sature h1d in t he rdieteenth
century, Indeed, Charles Darwin iecked formal education in
niost scientjfjc d1sciDljns, j o spite of that, his cenius
was sufficinnt to ailow hin, t-o learo nd construct hypotheses
all by himself. Even so, his own ignorance and the
b ackwardness of biological sciences as compared to phvsics
and rnathernatjcs were the majo reason, for the notable gap
lo hs theory. The first ono is the incapacity of science at
that tim e to explain the rxistence and origin of qertetic
"ariatioris which qave w.iy tí) the diarerse varip ties
wjthjr a
species. The second gap was -in Darwinian theory- th lar Ir
of a mechanjsn, which r xp1ained how the characteristcs of a
successful variety ("fit") in the struqgle for existe-ce mn y
beinhrtdysca-i.Bothfesmn
were satisfactoriiy explained only jo this century, thanks tn
meo as Mendel, Morcan, ad De Vries.
The progress cf genetics, starti ng from the
enuncjatjon of ijendel's law. iowed to understand t.he
mechanjsn, which transnjttecj h oreditary qu1ties, reachinç
this way a new expression of n atural se:Lecticn, which is
efficient only when i acts on alterations of the froquenc,
of determjned genes in each popuiation. This new enunciattor
of natural selection ín terrns of the frquency of genes has
heer, n&ec1 Neo-Darwj njsn,. 11/

The story post-The 0rgin of Species (1859-1882)
The publica ,--ion of The 0rgin of ipecies changed

completeiy the viewpoint which, until 1859, nteilectuals and
nen of science had giveri to bioiogic evolution. It was no
longer a matter of discussing whether or not there existed an
evolutive process valid for all organisrns, hut in what forru
it was carried out. As it has been said repeatedly, after
Darwin man occupied the place in nature it corresponded hi,
and this new concept initiated a 5Lo.oq.cal revolution which
every day acquires more vigor and transcendency. It would
he asserted that theory of evolutlori, together with ceUular
and genetics theory, rnake up the vertebral colurnn of modern
b jo 1 og y.
The work o: Charles Darwin etween 1837 and 1258
transformed the cruise of the , Beagle l, in the greatest ever
scientific expedition. Indeed, the frontiers which have heer
open.ed to hurnanity as a result of the evidence collected in
this voyage, can be compared only to the discovery of Arerica,
or to the first trip to the Moon in 1969. Darwin's
achievement, alrnost 150 years ago, together with the sailors
who went with him, continues being an example of discipline,
nautical cnowiedge, and scientific rigour.
Charles Darwin continued his fertile work for 23 more
years after the publication of The Origin of Species. He died
in his home at Down, near London, on April 19, 1882, and was
buried in Westminster Abbey, togehter with Sir Isaac Newton.
Te "eaqle', his oid adventure companion, continued
sailing throughout the seas, carrying the Admiralty's flag
until 1845, and was finaily discharged frorn its duties in 1870.

- ---

-------

---._

21.
I I.

11 0peration Darwin"
1.

Origin and Development of Darwin Project (DP)
Half-way through 1976, a group of professors of the
Institute of International Studjes of the Universjtv of Chile
began to investigate the topic "Darwin and Chile A Case Study
of Interaction in Scientjfjc .Matters Between and Excellence
Ceriter and a Periphecal Society". This project obtained
maximum priority in the f inancement contest of research
projects organjzed by our Universjty. It relied on two basic
points: a) a study of historical and scientjfjc
aspects of the
visit o th
"Beacle" to Chile (1834-I85) and b) the
impact of Darwin's work in Chilean ideas and culture :uwards
the end of the nineteenth Centry. This was not Ue first
time we were concerned with Darwin az-id his theory, but now we
had Lhe opportunity to Contribute in an original forrn to the
knowledge of the great English Scholar and his influence in a
non-European culture.
A short time after we hegan, we realized the
enorrnous impact of Darwnjan thought in historiography,
education, P cl itics and social development of Chile between
1960 and 1914, to the point it was alriost lmpossible to
understand our own cultural process without exa mining more
deepiy the reasons Darwjn's supporters and opponents clajmed
in Chile as weli as in the Oid World and North America.
Furthermore, we realized that the elapsed time had not erased
erLtirely the passions unleashed by the controversy on The
Origin of Specis; mor e over, sor'e coriflictjv e
poirits had only
been revitalized, a c'uiring new forms and d
imensjons. Therefore,
if we wished that our coriclusjons should have sorne validity
and b enefjts, all sorts of anal y
sjs had to be restated from

22.
our own historical perspective. !'.t the sarne time, by reading
Tie Voyae of the "Beagle", we were enliqhtened for more than
one reason; the precise description of Darwin showed us r
sceriery so different from Cie at prrsnt, that sornetimes
seemed to us that author was referring to a territory
unrelated to our daily experience. Only when the presence of
man was registered in a sporadic and superficial form, as in
the case of our southern landscapes, did the Darwiniarl scenery
emerge with all its pristine beauty, rnuch in the same way it
had shown itself before the amazed eyes of the young naturahist
of the "Beaรงle", aimost 150 years ago.
p araleli to this purely academic activity, and in
regard to our position in a research center whose main interest
lies ir the study of international relations and its different
actors, we were concerned with the tncreasing deterioration of
our intellectual image abroad and the loss of prestige which,
traditionally, our country has always enjoyed In the academic
international milien. This is certainly not the appropiate
place or accasion to analyze and discuss such facts. Nevertheless,
we can assure that then, as well as now, we claimed the need to
support and stimulate at any price basic scientific research,
being this the only form of assuring the survival of values

and cultural and social institutions dear to our historical
traditions which have been our pride since the beginnings of
our nation. Furtherrnore, we deem indispensable the active
presence of a clear and decided scientific opinion in our
development as a modern nation imbued with the spiritual values
of the Western World. The significant absence of the voice
of the scientific community in circumstances and problems
which demanded a logic rational opinion, clearly formulated

E

23.
and backed by the prestige

of scierice, contrjbuted powerfu]. to
convince us of this need. This reality, which in another place
we have nan p "the s j lencn of
sc ient j sts u , has manifieste(I
itself particularly in prohlerns as
for the riation as
the lack of a defined policy on the maintenance of our
environent and natural. r esources. Thus, it was apparert
that the weight of the opiriion of our scientjsts had been lost
in the traffjc of our recent history, -specifically, since
1970. Our aim, then, was to assure the presence cf our
scientjfjc c ommunity in d ecis j o y s c
Oncerning such issues as the
adequate formulation of an economjc dev elopment policy where
only the experjence anci capacity of men of science could permit
the correct visu alization of such va
riables as the correct
m a nagement of e cosysteMs, or the complete
appre c j at j on of our
natural env ironrnent. In order for this to
take Place -even Iri
a ninj mum degree ... it would be
necessary to inCentivate
Scjentjfjc research in certajn areas ani d 1scip1nes, so as to
create the ca pacity to evaluate and take
advantage of our
natural resources. In the second place,
there also should b
dsigned aPproprjcite channeis to trar.snjt 'he in forratjon and
accumulated experjence to decision...rnakjnq leveis. The puttinq
dction of such an init j ative implied
a challenqe we were
certajn it would he faced positively hy our scientjfjc
comrnunjtv. Such challenge means to p a rticipate a
ccording to
our capacity in a world-level task in v
olving scientjsts,
educators, poljtjcjans and te chnicians, this task being
objectjve and dĂ­sa
Passionate analysis of our survival possihjlj
ties, and the consequent proposition of criterja for an adequate
So lution of thjs prohlem.
The peranent study of The7oydge â&#x20AC;˘ jr the

L

24.
and our constant preocupation for the survival of scientific
research in Chile, have almost uncons:ioUSlY merged in one
unique idea. Sorne fctors cornnon to roth frames of analysis
contrihuted te this. To mention sorne: the preocupation of
cer.ain acadenic sectors in regard to a lesser degree of
develcpment in biology of population and organisrns as compared to the repid growth of molecular hiolojy. Another exarnple
is the intninent need to cover ohvOus qa)S such as-the one
showed by the disaster of the oil-tanker "Netula", in the
Strait Magellan. Another f3ctor .i the asertce of
acadernic particLpatiOn in projec 4 s such •s the "Chiloe
splinters", which could becorne a tangible threat to the fragile
ecologic equilibrium of irnportant zon-; Ln our territory 12/.
The cceneries described and observed by Darwin have dernonstrated
us en ideal anci rnuch-desired Chile, a prtmitive and
uncontarninated territory te which we G hould strain to come
12/ In differerit ocassions, reference has been macle to the hackwardneSs
of the ensemble of disciplines whieh made np forrüer natural history,
respecting experimental biology. In a public forum organized by a
weekly publication, Dr. Patricio Sánchez expressed "when one
compares, for example, these two streams developed in Bioloqy, in
Chile, it is very clear that at this moment the older of the two
the one which commenced in the nineteenth Century and which refers
te (the study of) Chilean realit", is extraordinarily under_develO2
ed". ("Futuro sin Sonrisas, "ercilla, N g 2083, 2-8 July, 1975, pp.
33-35). AlsO, in 1975, in the college of ScienceS of the University
of Chile, serious attempts were made to impulse the growth of the
biology of organisrnS.
gegarring the project "Chiloe SplinterS", thts is a joint enterprise
between the Chilean Deve1opneflt CorporatiOn (CORFO) and a Japanese
multinational te exploit 125.000 acres of autochtOnOUS forests in
the island of Chilo, whjch has stirred a nation-wide polernic betwee'
development&liStS and conservatiOrliSts.

25.
neorer instead of partirtg away from it irreversably. The
challe'-ce we wished to fornulate was takirig shape. To face it
ade-uatel, we sriould have to bcard aran an imaginarv "Beaqie"
¿nd re-ericounter the Chile we hed alnot iOst.
Qn Septemher 1, 1976 9 we sent a letter to the
PrPsicent of the National Conmjssjon for .cientific and
Techno1orjca1 Reserch (Co ! ::oyp) subriitting for his consideration a project which we hdd named "Darwin Operation". Its
rrain objective was to pian in the best possible !lariner the
cornrnemoration of the 150th anniversary of the visit of the
H.r.:. "3eaqle" to our coasts, carrying he naturalist 7b.arles
Darin. The President of CCICYT WdS told of the convenience
and recessitv of

inviting wide sectors of our scier. t.fic

cornrnunity in a national-level task which would consist mainly
in an homage tc the autor of The Crigin of Species and in an
interdisciplinary investigation on the deterioration of the
Chiledn scenery after a century and a haif Darwin described it
so pr'?ciseiy. At the sane time, the Institute of :nternational
Studies supported inStjtutjonalli this idea, which was
consistent wtth the interest of this acadeic center to promote
international discussjons about environmental problems and to
contrihute tc the approachrnent of the ir.ternational scientific
comrnunity, definitely a main actor of contemoorary world
panorama 13/.
13/ rhis interest has been shown in nurnerous seminars and courses
organized by the Institute of International Studíes, 'hich gaye
originated publications of great importance and currenv for the
formulation of adequate policies. Sorne of them are:
Francisco Orrego (°d.) FrEservacin del edio Anhiente i arme
(Santiago, Ed. Universic.a Técnica del Estado, 1761.
Francisco O'rego (ed.) p olítica Oceánica (Santiago, :ditorial universitaria S.A., 1977).
Francisco Crrero y Augusto Salinas (eds). El Desarrollo de la
Antártica (Santiago, Editorial Universitaria, 197).

U
II

- -

26.
Irdeec, all along we had foreseen the idea of
transforrnincj the 'Darwin Operation" in a riultínatlonal
scientific action, being this the Oniy way we could fUifjIl
t'-1e obectives we had set.
The answer of the orgariism ;overring the planification
of Chilean scientific and technoloqical research was favorable.
As a result, a cormittee was created to study the proposed
projcct, elabor:te a prograr to place it in motion, and
structure legahly an organisrn which would he adequate to fulfihi
the rnutiple tasks surgested by the docurnent of the Instituta
of Internation Studes.
T'-jis cornnittee began to r'ieet iriformally ir October
1976. In the succeeding meetings, a definite action proect
bagan to tke forrn, md was subitted for consideration and
approval to various areas (academicians, tiniversity authorities,
goverrirnont spokesmert and representativas of prtvate enterprise
ar. business).
La Semana Científica y Tecno1óica, a scientific
publication editad by CCNICT, inforrned in its edition of
December 1G, 1976 (Year y , NQs. 222-223) the official
constitution of the planning comrnittee ocurred on December 2,
and various agreernents. In adrlition to the objectives and
purposes estabhished n the original project, the cornmlttee
innovated in two significar.t aspects: a) given the case that
Darwin had visited various South American countries other than
Chile, and the fact that the voyage of the !.M.S. "Beagle" had
extended through a circumnavigation of the globe, covering
practicahly all the Southern Hernisphere and sorne European
territories of the Atlantic, and given also the fact that the
coriditions and environmental complexities of our country are

27.
sirilar to the mentioned countries and territories, we decided to broaden -at leat theoreticallv.. the geographjc scenerv
of our activities by inviting the nations "isiteu by him between
1932-1836 -inciuding, obviouly, nglrnd- to particjpt t
our project; h) during the disc'ussion of the project, th
idea of planning an int erdiscipljnary research une which
would analyze the transformation of the landscape visited an
descrjbed by Charles Darwin in the period between bis stay
and 1980 was discussed. We thought this idea should he the
nucleus of the research program, and it3 importarice would he
in the posslbihity of constructing precisa indi r ators of
envjroflmerta1 dete r j oration in vast terrltorjes. These
indicators may be used in the elaborton of development and
conservatjon poljcjes for renewable natural resources.
Ouring the first months of 1971, the Darwin Project
(DM was made knowri and discussed in different rnilieu, both
in Chile and abroad. The enthusiasm awakened by this idea
stimulated and perrnjtted us to continue onward receiving and
introducjng irtto the original proect all the ideas and
suggestjons whjch contrjbuted to make it better or expand its
rdnge of actjon.
It could he said that, in this period, the DP acTiired
an internal dynamjsm and its own physionorny, which spurred us
to communjcate our idea to orgariisms and personaljtjes abroad.
The Executive Secretariat of the Comrnittee in charge
of the Darwin Project (which c orresponded to the Institute of
International Studies, originator of the project) informed this
initiative to the state agencies of the Latiri American countries
visited by Darwin. -ie received a positive answer from these
agencies alrnost i mmediately, specially from CONACYT of Argentina,

-

1-

..

-.-----

23.
CNP( of 3razil, •the ceneral Secretariat of Economic Planning
of Ecuador, and from the National Research Council of Perú.
In November 1977, the executive secretary of the commttte
was invited by te Governrnents of Spain and Enq1and in order
to estahlish direct contacts between Chile's Darwin Committ.ee
and diverse institutons, authorities and scientists of these
countries. During this auspicious tour the bases were set
for mutual coóperation and support. In due time, they will
originate scientific cooperation agreements in the areas and
disciplines covered by the DP.
The success achieved scinulated the executive
secretariat and CONCYT to create a national-level organism
whose institutional structure would ailow it to continué with
the deterriined tasks anci carry out agreements and financing
opetations, technical assistance and intellectual and
scientific cooperation both in Chile and a'road. Towards the
nd of 1977, • the charles Darwin National Committee was made
known and made official through the Supreme Decree N O 540, of
June 2, 1978. 14/ The Comité Nacional Darwin is presided by
)r. Ricardo Krebs, a highly prestiged historian, former Dean
of the College of HumanitieS of the Catholic University of
Chile, and president of the same University in 1969.
In this legal body different institutions arid
national organisms are represented. They take part in the
study of projects and in the process of planning and decisionn&ing through representativeS designated by them and who are
14/ La Semana Científica y Tecnol6cTiCa, 17 de Noviembre de 1977, Año
VI, NQs. 266-267.

29.
members of a Counctl presjded by Dr. 7ic , irdo Krebs, by the
Vice-presjdent ( re presenting C0NI y
T) and by the £xecutive
S'cretary. Nationa]. Darwin Committee will init j
ate its
actjvjtjes officially on SeDtemher 14. of this year, and wili
inrnediately begin
to study the project wch will be submited and
v,Í-1 plan the proqrar. of the cornmemorat ion of the lSOth
Anniversarv of Oarwin's visit to South Anerica.

2.

The Darwin Project: Wh ich is the Idea ?
A New Cali for Scientfjc
Internatjon' Cooperatjon
The Darwin Project (DP) na .ntains fidelity to its
original idea. It merely consjsts
in rendering hornage to the
rnerrory of
one of the greatest scientjsts in :nistory ¿md his
work, which even today, o ne-hundred ¿md fifty years since his
death, is a constant source of inspiration ¿md an example for
all men of s
cience. This honage, however, airns to Outstand
particlarly the historjcal importance of the
"Bealge's"
cruise whch started almost 150 years ago. (December 27, 1831
December 27, 1981). Surely, The Crigin of species was the
rnajn reason behjnd the "Beaale's» in
tegration to the history
of nautical. ¿md scientjfjc accomplishrnpnts; no
netheless, the
oId brig of scarcely over 200 tons ¿md a valiant crew ahlowed
Darwin to gather information which later enabled him to
formulate the theory of evolutjon of species by natural selectjon.
'he character of Darwjnjan work ¿md the
image of Charles Darwin
derp and that this co
nmemoration should have a connoted academjc
spirit, because what we are conmernoratinq is the triumph of
hunan capacity and scientific obiectjvjty regardir.q traditjonal
knowledge and behiefs. Thjs was a victory whjch set forth the
world we now uve in, with all its stinginess and grandeur.
Therefore, we have decided to carry out thls homaqe hased on

30.
two naln points: a) a historical-critical analysis of
Darwinian work frorn the perspective of present experierice and
knowledqe and, b) a rnultidisclplinary study of the regions,
nations and territories visited by Charles Darwin between
1832 and 1836. To be sure, ours is an ambitious idea, both
In the space and time we want to carry it out, because our
study would cover prctical1y all of the Southern He-'uisphere,
and it would be conducted during a time period lasttng
approxintately seven years (1979-1986). For this reason, and
as a way of assuring the success of this undert&dng, we are
m&ing an appea'. to individuals and iristitutions who want to
support our cultural cnterprise, so ie rnay jointly face in
open cooperation an initiative which, due to its wide range
of problems covered, must be achieved successfuhly.
Characteristics of this Enterprise
The Internatioial Geophysical Year (IGY) seems to be
a relatively appropriate Model for the task we are about to
undertake. It has been defined as "the most arnbitious and at
the same time, the most successful cooperative enterprise ever
undertaken.by man". 15/ in any case, IGY is the greatest,
most cornplex and comprehensive scientificinitiative ever
conceived, since there participated 67 natioris and around
33,000 mcrt of science who carried out research in sorne 8,000
stations distributed throughout the world from Pole to pole,
totaihing a cost abo y e 2 hihlion dollars. Durino the 20 years
15/ Cfr. Committe Qn International Relations, Science 2 Technology, and
American Diplonacy (Washington D.C., i-iouse of Representatives, U.S.
Government Printing Office, 1977). Vol. 1: Chapter 5, "The Pohitical
Leqacy of the International Geophysical Year tt , pp. 297-360.

31.
elapsed since IGY (1957-195e) sorne people have clairned that
the International Geophysical Year was not really an
international enterprise, ut rather a series of national level act j vjtjes Coorinatd internaUv. In turn, these
nitiona1 activities, once approved and financed by their
respective Governnents were almost exclusively under control
and supervisjon of scientists, thus entirely apolitical.
Accordin'-j to LLoyd J. !3erkner, '/ice- p resjdent of
the IG y Comrnittee, ll all prograrns were carried out by
SC ietistswjh thc approvai, cooperation and assistance of
the different governments, hut not under their d irection". IGl
The activities of :o y were highly individual and not
govrrnmenta1, b'cause every scientist involved in the task
carried out its research on a determjried problern according to
his personal interest, shared by many other scientists. IGY
was indeed an academic cooperatjve undertakirig with
governmenta]. assistance. Cur project pretends to continue
the path traced by :G y , although facing obvious and necessary
space and conceptual limitations, notwithstarding the fact it
shall be carried out during a considerahly longer period of
time. In the first place, the DP will he carried out mainly
in the Southern Hemisphere, particularly in the territories
visited, observed cfld described by Charles Darwin. On the
other hand, the viewpoint appiied in the DP is radically
different from the one apphied during IGY, hecause it gaye
primdry importance to the study of physical and chemical
phenomena affecting aur :lobe, covcriny a disciplinary
spectrun which went from glaciology to the analysis of solar
activity. :hereas the Dar'in Proect is ar initiative to
16/ Ibid. p. 331

LI

1

32.
know better our enviroriment, whether it he social, physical
or 'oiological. The criterion hereby applied underlir.es the
study of ecosystems through all those dispitnes and areas
of knowledge which deal with the suhject rnatter. V/o are also
interested in a heer knowledge of Darwin md his work from
a contenporary perspectivo, through a nature and in-depth
exan. Pinally, we emphasize the fact that our fundamental
concern is historical, and therefore, deep].y human. Thus,
our principal difference from IGY is conceptual and rot
merely geographical, because our object of study is the
relatton&'dp between man and his environnient during a 150
year period.
There are yet other differences whĂ­ch separate us
from the proposed model, but they are more formal than indepth. It has been said that IGY consisted of the sum of
individual and national efforts made possible thanks to
international cooperation. However, the absence of the private
sector is evident in the financerient as wehl as in the
conduction and coordination of research projects -basicahly,
the absence of private enterprise, universities, Scentific
societies, etc.
Ever since 1958 until present times, the panorama
of international relations has changed substantially, envolving
towards the assignment of roles of comparatively greater
importance to non--traditional actors of this staqe. To mention
sorne: the great multinational enterprise, the raw material
carteis, certain guilci and cultural institutions of supra national rank, etc. Cur project, therefore asks for a support
petition and an irivitation to privatf, non-state orgnisns and
institutions to participate in it. The objective is to take

33.
8dvartaqe of this Juncture so as te elaborat p a budget
a pproprjat p for cur a cticrn, but conparativ1y modest if
Conpared te GY's. 'inall y , we shall ask fc'r support arid
co llaboratjon from the internatjo1 scientjfjc comrnuriity,
represented by v arious orgrnisms and societies of great
prestige, thus ackriowlecing the tras cendental role of men
of science in the world panorama. This v iewpoint will allow
to exanino critically the POssibility of ccrryiricj out
interdisc1 p 1jrry actions conducteci c ooperativel y
by rtatonal
agencies, international organjsms and P rí vate grouos whether
they be finantial, guild and academjc. NOtw ithstandjng the
fact that we rny contjnue to us o- tracijtona1 chanriels of
financement 171 we believe that arnong our actions thre are
sorne which allow for a direct financernent, in relation to
their iritrinsjc corrimercjal value. Mostly, they deal with
extensjon operations, such as the filrning of scientifjc
d ocumentarjes, publication of textbooks, tourist promotjon,
tc. We are conv j nced that in ths area part of our effort
wili cause a great interest in the public and it riay generate
sinjfjcant methodologjc1 chanqes in educatjon.
Since thjs is a pro ect bern in an a cadernjc ceriter
whjch studjes internatjonaj relations, the DP gives great
importarice to the hetterrnent of the world situation;
con s eque-tly, its primordial objectjve is te contribute
su bstantiaily to the greatest possibie underst3ndjng and
nearness of the nations invited to be ari active part of the
17/ we already have had a uspicious contacts with sane international
agencies and orivate foundatjOn3 rejardjr- the financenent of soe
of our research project. We also have in our favor the c ooperatjon
and technical assistance promised by prestiged pubije and prívate
organj sms from Europe and Latín Arnerica.
The prívate sector's
interest to cooperate with us in certan phases of the DP has been
a great stimulus to our a ctivities. Tbis has been
ma nifested
through entrepreneurs, guiid repre sentatives,
and spokes in of
development corporatjons.

-

_I1_

34.
program, trustLng that this initiative will he followed by
other regional qroups.
Just as in the IGY, the Darwin Project will examine
the role of science and technology in the solution of
international proh1es through the joint work of scientists,
government officials, and representtivPS of the prvate and
acaemic sectors ir ar initiative totally unrelated to any
are多 or topic poli.tically conflictivE'.
By promnoting international qood-wll towards the
soluion of interr.ational politic'l prohlems generated by the
scientific comnnunity, IGY deserved tO be regarded as "humanity's
most sigriificarit pacific enterprise since Renaissartce up until
present days'. 18/ on a smaller scale, the DE' also wishes te
generate an attitude of greater understnding and reciprocal
respect amorig the participant countries.
In surnnary, and with the already-mentioned limiting
factors, the DE' aspires to continue IGY'S work by const1tutin
a supranatonai scientific enterprise ' wbere men of science,
entrepreneUrs with foresight, academician and public-officials
unite in the task of generating a greater understandiria amortg
participant nations and create the possibility to design ideal
methods artd instruer.tS for the solution of regional problems.
18/ 5cience TechnolOgy, arid American Diplomacy, Vol. 1, C'napter 5, p.
348. The lessons left by IGY in matters of international scientific
cooperation are well shown in the foliowing paragraph of the quoted
book: "The spirit de corps engendered by IGY seems to have replaced
man o s natural conservationism, and expressions of optimism floated
freely imnrnediately after that spectacular scientific activity... It
was observed, for example, that IGY united many men under the
conditjons which favored appreciation and harnony among them and it
demonstrated that meri of science could play a fructiferoUs role in
international organizatiofls such as ICSU 多md its parent, UNESCO..."
(ibid. 347).

35.
In particular, thc

DP

will be lLrrited to the study of

'Darwinian scerieries" which are preferently located -expting certain 5p.inish dnd Portuquese archiplagos- in the
Southern Hernisphere.
onceptuallv, the objetive is to
examine the stae of the evolution tieory frorn the viewpoint
of conterporary kr.owled9e and to pronote dn integral study
of man's physical and biolotcl environment in the mentiond
terrjtores.
one

p

roh].ems Involve In the

p

We belteve our purpos shall be clearer if we
examine -even thou;h briefly- the complexitles which the DP
will face. In the first p2ace, it will he inevitah1'1 focused
frorn an iterdisciplinary pespective, both hecause of the
varieties of problerns we have defined, and because the interd

isciplinary method is much more efficacious and aliows a

dynamic study of the subjects to be dealt with. The figure
and work of Charles Darwin occupy a promnent spce within
this context.
!ost prohabiy, the exitent bibliography or.
the nglish savant and his theory on r&ettural 3election is very
p.'ofuse and uninue in merit. Nevertheless, there exist sorne
topics related to hoth suiject rnatters which deserve the
inve s'igatorst interest. As an example, we refer to the
study of the inpact of Darwinian theory in the culiure of
peripheral countries, nainly, in S pan ish-Anerjcan nations. we
hve seen sorne of this in Chile, '-'here Darwin's ideas provoked
a controversy in t`-)e educational and Iolitical field, which
turned out to be enormously beneficious for the intellectual
and social development of the nation. Another topic of
interest is the impulse which the 多uthor of -.he Crigin of
Species ga e tc the lflstitutionalizatjon of science as a
y

L

--

-

I

I

--

--

---r-t

--

-

-

36.
soci&tly aknowldged acivity, and to tlie professionalization
of thn men of science. In this sens, - e belleve that
Darwir1ism, by joininq a 3acoriian research nethodolory with
the capacity to fDrnulate hypotheses of an elevated de'-ree
of ahstraction, perriitted scierice of that time -and
specially the life science- to surpass the liriits of a rigid
positivisrn and break the traditoral harrier which lir'ited
the area of a scieritist to what was licit for hirr and his
professional act 4 vity. This poirit takes us directly to a
problem area we belleve vital in our project. :ts obective
is no other than to exarinc the development of scence an
mainly, of disciplines which inteqrate derr, biolog y ever
since Charles Darwin disembarked in E r q1and at the end of the
voyage of the "eagle" until the preserit. In this frame of
preponderantly historical analysis, we are coricerned hoth
wlth the internal development of boloqy (primordially, the
theory of evolution and genetics) as well as for the social
frame within which science has been arting during this period,
tbat is, tne development of relationship between science and
society. Indeed, there exist many volumes dealing with the
relationship between science and society; sorne of them examine
the prcblern in certai'-i historicil periods and in deterninate
societies. Others -may be thc majority- deal with the
sociology of present-dav contenpordr' science. 19/
19/ The foliowing rnay be r., uoted arnonj the first ones:
La. 1:arsak (ed.) The Rise of Science in Relation to Society, (New
York, Mc. Millan Co., 1964).
3rown Martin (ed.) -he Social Respor.sahility of tie Scientist, (New
York, Free Press, 1971), and the classic by Robert K. rIerton,
Science, Technoloqy arid Society in 17th Century England, (New York,
Harper and Row Publishers, 1970).
The current sociology of science has an extended hihlioqraphy;
jUSt to mention two:
W.0. Hangstrom, The Scientific Community, New York, flasic Books,
(1965).
Bernard Barber, Science and the Social Order, (New York, Free Press,
1952)

37.
Nevertheless, there still exist notorious gaps in this field,
bearing in mmd the enorinous change provoked by the appearance
of the theory of natural selection arid its impact in the
scientifjc, political, economĂ­c and social thought of the
nineteerith century. Therefore, we believe indispensable te
realize a serious historjc sudy of the behavior of scieritific
comrnurtity and its interactjon with the social rni].ieu which
made possible its past activities duririg the last 150 years.
Ever sirice Charles Babbage wrote in 1830 The
Decline of Science in England up untl today, the scientjfjc
erw j rori,ent and the reasons which made scjence possihle have
undergone a deep change. After the historc discujon
betweeri Huxley arid i3ishop Wilberforce in June 1860, it seemed
that there wou].d never exist linijtdtjorls te scientjfjc
innovatjon. Today, the latest genetic experirnents cause social
alarm, and voices are raised even in societies which value
freedom of expression and thought abo y e all things â&#x20AC;&#x201D;thus
pretending to limit the freedon to choose research topics and
methods, as has been so far 20/.

201 According to Thomas Huxley and many other British men of science,
after the puhhicatjon of The Origin of Species, "Humanity could
await with optimism not only the unhimited growth of scientific
knowledge, but also could forasse ari unlimited bioloqical progressu.
(Quoted by Wihlian, Irvine, in the book Apes, Angeis and Victorians
(New York, rieridian Books, 6th Printing, 196) p. 136. Presently,
the outstandjng results of g enetic investigation (just to name the
field of biology) has caused worry in wide sectors of public
opinion, both in the United States and in Europe. Cfr. from Harvey
Wheeler, "La Cienca bajo la Ley" in Facetas, Vol. 4, NQ 1, 1971)
and the recent number of Daedalus, entitied Limits of Scieritific
I_n guiry (Vol. 107, N Q 2, Spring 1978).

u

38.
In LatĂ­n Arnerica, historical accorplishments in
scl.ence are a little known phenomena; yet, they deserve to he
cortsidered. Aain, we believe that the influeriee of Darwin's
work was basic in the birth of our scientiic spirit. T1ere fcre, we have included this topic in our proqram of investiga
tions.
T-c spectacular development of genetics, starting
fror the work of pauling, Iatson, Crick, Koraria and Shapiro,
among others, will undoubtedly perrnit original and productive
viewpoints in the examination of modern evolution theory. In
1955, a group of erninent scientists were called by the American
ssociation for the Advancerient of Science (AAAS) to meet in
Atlanta, U.S.A., to study the prohlern of species. Are the
results of that symposium still valid, from the viewpoint of
actual scientific knowledqe? This is orie of the many questions
we believe must be answered by the present generatlon of
hiologists. Neanwhiie, it is even more beneficial to study
the possibility of a synthesls, or at least to establist the
most expedite channels of communtcatior between molecular
hioloqy and environmental and population biology. An outstanding contemporary biologist has criticized the opinion of
certain molecular biologistS who believe that uve orqanisms
obey physical and chemical laws which qovern the universe and
that the properties of such organisms are completely
understandable in chemical terms. According to tnis bioloqist,
even if the first premise is true, the second one is not. The
cornprehensiOfl of ' uve organism requires the understanding of
evolutive mechanisms which allow it to adapt to the
everchanging environment it lives in. "It could be thought
that this would allow biology to enter clefinitely in the frame

F39.

of naturalist world together with physical scie'ce. Almost
all of the evolutive biologists arrived to that conclusion;
nevertheless, it is quite odd and traqic that the incipient
breach between those we now cali molecular hiologists and
evolutive hiologists, tends to wtderi instead of closing.
Evniutive hiology and blology of integral organisms requires
an enlarceent of the phiiosophy of science, so s to.rtciude
its special characters" 21/. The breach referred by Simpson
keeps widenin, and this phenomenort seems to be rnuch more
visible in the scientific miiieu of underdeveloped countries
th-in in Pmertcan arid European centers of excellence, where
the importance gven to ecoloqy has contrihuted to increase
the value of the bioioqy of uve organisms. "Wheri young and
hrilliant biologists taik about genetics genes, and wise, oid
biologists taik about life without organisms, it it evident
that something peculiar is going on in biology; peculiar
enoucjh so that the word "crisis" is not too harsh". The very
inclusion of this quote is enough to establish our belief in
the opportunity for a serious dialogue in the matter.
The voyage of the "Beagle" Ln the Southern
Hemisphere sees the new south American republics and the vast
territories of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa in a
very particular moment of their history. It could be said
that Darwin and his conpanions witnessed the

awakening of

national consciousness in these regions, after nerely fifty
years had elapsed since the declaration of Indeperidence of
211 Cfr. Gaylord Sinpson, La BiologĂ­a y el Hombre (Buenos A ires, Ed.
Pleamar, 1974), Chapter II "Perspectivas y Limites de la BiologĂ­a".

-l-t.

--

-

40.
the United States of America. As far as we know, no atternpt
has ever been made for a coriparative history of riations
located in the 3outhern Remisphere, which have bcome only an
entity of relative politLcal force and lesser cohesion in the
so-called "North-South dialogue". Phis riay be a good
opportunity to face this task in such an interesting period
as ín thc first haif of the nineteenth century. At least,
The Voyage of the "Beagle" and its zealous observatiorts on
certain aspects of South American socicties seems to be a
good starting point. Finaily, and referring precisely to
historical research, the DP shall have to deal prirnarily with
those aspects related to navigation and scientific expeditions
undertaken rnostly by the Spaniards, French and English in the
South p acific Seas during the eighteenth and nineteenth
century. There is little Spanish bibliography Qn the subect
and the one that is available is outdated, excepting sorne
volumes published by the Institute of Uispanic Culture and
the work of the Chilean historian Sergio Villalobos titied
La Aventura Chilena de Darwin (Santiago, Ed. Andrés Bello,
1974). The theme -so near to our hitory and so dear to our
best navel traditions shall be the object of interdisciplinary
research where specialists in naval historv and historians of
science shall urtite to rescue nautical and scientifjc
achievernents joined to such names as the very Robert Fitz Roy,
La Perouse, Azara, Ulloa and Jorge Juan, Cook, La Condamine,
Ruiz and Pavón, and so man » other. Today more than ever, the
Pacific Ocean is a factor of mutual knowledge and unity aznong
people of different cultures; to enter their history and reconstruct their past must be, undoubtedly, a task which will
increase our ties with our neighbours near the sea.

41.
We are conviced that t
cultural heritage of a
ntion does not end in its great arcitectural nonuments, nor
its artistic, literary or scieitific contrihutions. The
relationship structured throug'-i hi.3ory between man and his
physical environnent is also part of a cultural property.
Threfore, to help recr'nstruct the autoctonous landscape seen
by panish discoverers, or to collaborte iri a11 initiatives
which tertd to obstruct tie extinction of native flora and
fauna, is a cultural task, because it contrihutes to the
rescue of sonething whch is traditionally ours and which has
helped to forge our idiosyncracy as a nation. The dr'.a of
our tines is that there remains very little to admire, at least
n what concerrts natural beauties. Por this reason, national
parks (continental or marine) and natural history museums are
considered keepers of the nost fraji.e and unstable part of
cultural heritage. Thus, the DP will concern primarily in
contributing to the creation and conservation of "natural
sanctuaries", nuseums, specialized libraries and national
parks -particularly in those places we have called "Darwinian
sceneries". To achieve that, we shall proraote the dictation
of speciai decrees and laws, and the start of a large international tecnical assistance opration. We shall also
sponsor the orgartization of serninars and symposia on the
suh1ec as a mearis of taking adv .antage of the experience
acnieved on these suects in other latitudes. Our aim is
to represent rnan's new approximation to nature through the
niuseum and natlonal parks.
The emphasis on our Yuests rtow shifts to a field
which is more propicious for the naturalist than for the
social scientist, eveo if we insist that the rnultidisciplinary

42.
characteristic of the OP is constant throughout all or most
of the state problems. 'le have expressed before that the
nucleus of the DP -almost since its origin- has been the
analysis of the deterioration of our landscape for the past
150 years. We wish to broaden the tern landscape so it may
cover the vast Darwinian sceriery. Its objective is to
verify all t}-te changes in the environment of many territories
of the Southern Henisphere, starting from the careful study
of the descriptions left by Darwin and other naturahists and
compare them with the natural and human landscape of present
times. As we know, Charles Darwin took good advanta9e of the
French and Spanish scientific voyages of the eighteenth
century, and in addition, became acuainted with the works
of certain Spanish American naturahists. Names such as Azara
and Juan Ignacio Molina are repeatedly iuoted in his textbooks and his hibrary t s catalog; the books of these and other
authors appear careful1'written down and underhined by Darwin
ho was a conscientious reader 22/. ioreover, the detaihed
descriptions left by the English naturalist have agreater
intrinsic value because he incorporated the testimony of many
other travchlers and conosseurs of the little-explored and
Memorial
22/ Cfr. iiistorco1 and Descriptive Catalogue of the
at Down House, Down, (ent., and Handlist of Darwin Papers at the
Uriiversity Library, Carnbrtdge (Canbridge, Carbridge University
Press, 1960). 1 'nave been able to see personaily sone of the
numerous volumes of the Spanish and LatĂ­n ttnerican authors in
Cambridge University's Library, thanks to the kindness of ir.
Peter J. Gautrey, Curator of the Manuscripts t)epartnent.

43.

urtcontarninated landscape of the Z oujnern Hemisphre. Tius,
we want to take advataje of a historical docunr?nt of the
greatest value in a riqorously sciertific study which will
permit us to aniy7.e

the

多jeoiotical, clioatic, biological

and anthropologicai changes ocurred in

d

:ortveni(jnt period of

time. Undoubtedly, we shall range this expPriment cautiously
and shall verlfy at every moment the validity of the historical sources in a research of this nuture. In order to do so
-and followirj faithfully Darwiriian texts- we shall, in the
first place, define what we have named "!)arwinian scenries";
they are thosc terrtories vsited by :irw1n a nd of which he
left detailed descriptions.

ere, we shall face

geomorpo1ogic1 and linguistic prohlems of certairt importnce

because the toponyrny of these places has evolved according to
its usage by different cultures. in any case, the correct
use of hstorical documents in the evaluation of present
landscapes will be quite ari intellectual adventure whose
results will he used beneficiously in similar proects. Once
the 'arwinian sceneries" shail he marked, different
specialists wfll have te analyze the different changes, their
cause and najnitude. There are roaons to believe that we
shall find exponential curves in all those changes irnplyinq
manis usage of his geoqranhical rnediurn. Furthermore, we can
suppose that the inventory of currerit zoological and
botanicl species wjhi vary considerably frorn the panorama of
1--ve organisrns described by Darwin: we also kriow that we shall
necessariiy have to include the disappearance of ethnic groups
known by the author of The Origin of Species. All in ah, it
must he pointed out that aside from postulating the extinctiori
of certain species -whose causes are not yet wellknown or

i4.
studied- we know that since Darwin's visit until today,
nurr.erous foretgn species have been integrated into the
biological lanciscape of our countries, maz!ng alrnost
unrecognizable the sceriery obsrved by this naturalist. For
example, the present rural landscape of Chile is not
auochthortous at all at least in the Central part of the
country. Pines, whlows, poplars, fruit trees and
interninahle bramble bush fences make up a biogeographical
scenery absolutely unknown to Spanish conquerors, and partly
unknown even in the first haif of the nineteenth certtury. 23/
On the other hand, we believe that we shall find decidedly
positive changes -at least from the human point of viewwhich undoubtedly ahiows for a certain aznount of optimism
regarding future perspectives arising from our project.
Surely, it shall be mo3t interesting to compare
for the first time the descriptiori of eiâ&#x20AC;˘ghteenth and nne teenth centurv textbooks with the results of scientific
measurements carried out during the investigation. We are
23/ In the second haif of 1977 the British Broadcasting Corporation
(BBC) filmed a documentary in Chile on the voyage of the "Beagle".
One of the greatest difficulte during the filming was to find an
inlet where the sailboat -which jad been speciaUy conditioned to

resemble the "Beagle"- could dock. In alI the appropriate doc1cing
spots there were pines and eucalyptus trees which arrived to this
country years after Charles arwn's visit.
it is sensible to point out that regardirig the introduction of
foreign species, the econonic criterion has outpowered scientific
criterion. This fact has orovoked real ecological catastrophes
which have caused the disappearance of many native species.

45.
convinced that t-e techniues and nothod proper to history
anU exp'rirnental ccie'-ice s hall be favored with this mutual
exchange of data and compared observations. Ths is the
only manner we can adequately certify tie validity of a
hstortcal documeit as a faithful tetrnony of the past.
During ti-te past years, studies or qret scientific
vaiue have heen 1one in the geographlcdl area and space we
are markinq for our tas. Indeed, reearch has heen carried
out covering practicaUy all specters of envlronrnent nal'sis.
Nevertheless, it must be ponted our that the immense majority
of surh research has heen lirr.itd to the study of the prPse't
lartdscape, that is, just a dot lo a change curve in time, which
would evidntly linit the capacity to extrapolate the results

of investigations and eploy their, 1r iortç raocje forecasts.
lo the first place, the DI) aspires to carry out a
rnultidisciplinary historical stucly of chartge which would
permit adequate conclusions for future formulations of nationallevel envronrnent pohicies. In the second place, ti-te DP will
make good use of toe existent infornation and will offer to
coorclinate and/or cooperate in those irwestigations which are
being executed or will be carried out during our project's
sven-year period.
lo Chile, there have been oricdnal and interestin
irvestii:atjons in areas where the DP also wishes to delve into:
in 1977, a grant of the world 1.nild Life Fund permitted Chilean
and ?Çortharnrican scientists to deterrninat the ecological
irvtpact of exotic species jo native fauna. Qn the other hand,
different academic centers jo the country have done a giant
effort to krzow better our national resources. One of them is
the Iristitute of Biology of the tiniversity of Concepción,

46.

which has the country's most iriportant herbarium (about
50,000 sap1es) rnade up by species collected by different
Chilean and foreign botanists, and fototypes acquired from
tie Chicgo Natural Hisory Nuseurn. It is interestinci to
underline the method used by this institute in the search
of species. It is done according to the sane itinerary
covcred by classic botanists who travelled throughout Chile
during the last three centur. In this serise, the research
is historical, since it relies on the very notebooks of
naturalsts such as Ruiz and Pavón, J. D. ilooker, Rodulfo and
Federico Philippi, etc.
Recently, the initiative of a Jeographer, Dr.
Victor3. uintanilla, has brought fort the publication of
the Diccionario de biogeografía para

órica Latina (Bio-

eographic Dictionary for Latín Arner±ca) (Valparaíso, Ediciones Universitarias is the "(nost adequdte) tool to understand
completely natural sciences and the auxiliaries to the
bological sciences, especially to ap:reciate change -usually
deterioratjon- of natural habitat" 24/. Thus, the DP, whose
purpose is to conduct research cm the chanqe of natural
habitat, congratulates of the existence of such studies 'hich
certainly have also been carried oufi in. (,ther nations, ar.d
which will be invited to take part in the project.

;ernust
not forget that scientific knowledge is constructed by a
perrnanent conjunction of individual and collective efforts,

24/ On the work of the Institute of Biology of the Universjty of
Concepción, cfr. "Chile se llama CONC", in Ercilla rJO 21 7 4, Narch
30-April 5, 1977, pp. 61-63.
The information on Diccionario de Biogeografia is in "Brújula para
un Nuevo Idioma", Ercilla NQ 2244, August 2-6, 1978 1 p 57.

Ii

n
47.
¿md that each irvestiator adds orilv i quanta of knowledge to
the constant fiow of science. As said beforo, those ir. ch8rge
of the r)p 's good functloning wish to contribute end serve in
the hest possible way to greater international understrnding.
On the othcr hand, our project is decidedly conservtiorijst,
in the sertse that the Darwin Natjonal Cor'ittee -or later the
regional cornrnite- wifl do ¿di tiat is possible to promote
the best use of our resources and the conservtjon of
e nvironment. Foth purposes fit irito an ade'uate frarne in the
proposition of criteria and priorities for the forn-ultion of
n-iLionai and regional level policies destined to keep ecologi
cal equilihriurn. It is hre prcisely, where t'-te Darwin
Nationai C rxrnittee and any or q anisrn credtd by the Darwin
Project, nust keep dt all costs its right to constructive
criticisrn and exrress its ideas freely -an analiertable right
which characterjzes ¿di acadernic activities. It is necessary
to point out the struqgie fought at alI leveis to comhat
cootarn j ndtjOn jo ¿di its forrns and to create a conscience of
the cvidertt danger irnplied in the indiscriiinate and
rneasureless use of the resources of the biosohere. This
preocupdtion has beeri very weli sul)norted by the larqe and
extended bihlio'jraphy published, ¿md the increasing interest
of different puhlic and private organizations concerned with
t:iis prohiern. However, in our cour.trie, the studies on
r nvironrnent arILl natural resources' admiistration are receit,
dnd public opinion tends to consier the increasing contarnination
problems as sornething which concerns oniy highly industrialized
countries. Rec'ently, sorne controversial topics and certain
unfortunate happenings -such as th€ exploitation of autochthonous fcrests, and the hast oil tanker disasters- have started

ciequate formulion of ar. environrnen l di jolicy mut t&:e into
account two facts: a) the undeniab'e need of our countries to
rrintain an eccnonlc jrcwth of certdin nagriitude; b) the
irrefutable fact tha: actual tecnology, -nade j ossible hv n
crroneous economic policy, is terminatiri'j our opttnns to
survive as a species. Uridoubtedly, any proposition to detain
the weak Latín, )nrican developrnent and arrlve t a "zero
growth" rate (propord by sorne coriservationsts of developed
countries) will he rejected unaninsiy by our natioris who are
at the ' t qrow or die' stace. Cn the othr side, sone radici.
conservationists havc' defended their honest ¿md deeply human
position in such absolute ter-s, that if their ideas were te
be carried out, it would signify a hibernization of the
present situatioi. In ether words, nture's actual dynarnisrn
manifested in thc cyciic appearonce ¿md disappearace of
species ¿md in t li p Qnvironrnental CLarVJeS which make thls cycie
possi'cie, would originte a static process which is completely
ttura1 25/. ?h '- opposite viewpoir:, vhiCh s to take
25/ durinç the uas years there has been an insistence in detaining
world econornic growth, ond leonr.q instead cf a "zero rowth" rate.
In its F'all 1973 edition, Da?da1us compiled articles of outstand-ng specialists en these 7roblerns.
(iuhlished as Vol. Q 102 9 2 4, Proceedings of the rnerican Academy
of Arts and Science).
Zugene rabinowitch, on the other hand,'ias critcized the insufficien
tly rationel and passior'.ate arquments of sorne groups of
conservationists; l it is a fact, that without any interference from
man, the history of life on Earth includes the elimination of
innumerable species which were unahie to adapt to changes, and were
'onservation, for
replaced 5 Y more adaptable ones".

n
"o
hneft of nuturl resources without thinking about the future,
is a cescapitalation process which wili end not only these
rlches hut all our ilfe possihil1es; It Is much more
irratona1, hut it is overwhelmng1y Imposing its critra.
The eccncmy of alnost ¿di Latin AmerIcan countries
has shifted fror,
phase which was xclusively concentrted on
exoorts of raw rater.iahs, to iinother w:erior phise hase in
an indiscrimnat0 opCnri to forelcjn investnent -n the
stjmulation of non-traditiona exports. 3oth fdtors have
accelerated the destructiori of our environment, sirice the lac'z
of p rotective legislature and th investors' desire to achieve
quick return of their investmertt combine in ari exploitat.t.on
of resources whlch leads to the contindtion of ¿dr and water,
erosion, •rid t,-he extintion of our niltive flora and fauna.
Analogicahly, the export of non-traditional products has
251 Cortservation's sake ?' 2he ul1tin of Atonin :cientists, vol.

-

LJ

MXV, Q 5, !ay 1969, p. 47.
'rhe extreme case of halting the constrution of a dam valued at
USS 16.000.000 happened recently (in Tenneszee, U.S.A.) du to a
u....;.. Surrie Court resolution favorinq
srnall variety of perch
called "snail darter", whos e hife was enda r.-jered because of the
dan. The "snail darter" is ono of the rany soecies nrotocted by
the Federal Act of Endangered Species of 1975. (Time. June 26,
19', P. 21).
Je advocate for a middle 7otnt hetween hot
positions. It is true that the scierttific arument for the "zero
'jrowth" cause is very stronç artd highly ratiorial. r3.. Vurray
compares two types of growth: Boloqical and ecoriomical.
he first
nne is natural and according to natural laws since it rests on a
permanent regime where organisms set thesolves at a level of
eiuilibriuii. On the contrary, economic growth is an increasing one
arid ends up by weakening the quality of life in te same way as
cancerous cehis atternpt againtst the host orjanism. ("Lo q ue los
:cóloq os pu-den ense.ar a los Economistas", in Facetas, Vol. 6, N
1 9 1973, p. 47).

26/ Curry-Lindahl sys in his quoed book: 'Development, in its modero
sense, does not ilways mean procress. Many developing countries do
not have the capital nor the market means necessary to exploit its
reserves. For the sar-e reason, developmertt in left lo the hands
of foreign investors who are steered more by profit than by
conservition principies. Unfortunately, this viewpoint oftert
coincides with sort-term political view p oints held by qovernments".
(Conservar para Sobrevivir, op. cit. p. 343). Unfortunately, the
majority of the great r-ultintionals are iovestiog a qreat deal of
money in estbiishing higUy pofluting industries in sorne countries

D.r this region because the poliution control laws lo developed
countries cbstruct its expansior,. The "poilution sanctuar!es" have
proliferated lately, and we may observe the phenomenon where many
of our cities show poliution rates higher than the ones of Europe or
orth rerica. Qn this topic, Cfr. J. Barnet and F. E. Miiller,
Global each: Th Power o fYultinational Corporations. (New York,
Sim on ndSchuter197,especiailyPart1, Ch. 12: "The Ecoiogy
of Corporations and the cudiity of Growth").

51.
difference beinq that they destroyed their, and nust uy a
new one aioro the 000r" 27/. However, t'e ost co-ron
criteriori is not precisely the proclaimed one. It could be
sai . that the nost rjeneralized opinion -wiCh ir nany
occasions is oxp:essed cortfusedly in sone yovernnent pol iesis a "blind jeneriticni hiief n supposed henefits of
industrial dev c lopnont", 7/ abo y e all Hnot IN er consieration
towards ecology.
A critic of Jonoso's work thinks that his position
is trie one of "a heggar suffering poverty sittiny on top of
'n.15 rncne'1 chest ... Rather "-han satisfying a bucolic desre
that our descendants :nay stroll uncir shadowy trees to the
musical sound cf %And, we must se that today's chiiclren may
have the necessary food, shelter, education ¿md health, and
that their parents nay ave an income compatible with human
dijnity". Tbe same thought has beeri supported recently by
ene of our rnost importartt cornmunicatons neda, when it stated
in its editorial, "It is evident that thc fght gainst
extreme poverty ¿md the effort to rercve certain zones or the
country from underdeveiopment is more i'rportant than the
conservat ion of certain natural specis, 'o natter how
valuah1 p they are" 29/
iow can we arivc at a consensu 'ith suc li extreme
ort-da, Q 50, april
27/ 11 31 los Dólares no Dnarar V'r elBosque".
1976, pp. 1i'-17.
23/ Ibid. ibid. p. 16.
29/ Letter to the Lirctor. portada, ¡; 31, ma ,, 1976. The uoted
Editorial was nublished in Elercurio, June 13, 197, p. 3.

the developrnent process. In its nnu31 report for 1975, the
EP regarcis obsolete the ?osition 'hich considers deve1opnent
as "invitab1y destructíve for ervirornt" as well s the
pozition whch suports the idea tt nv.ronrnent protection
"ts often an obstacle to tYe econornic exI)anson

developed
countrjes ad its deveioprnent process'. Cn t h e cortrar', the
is bsed on the he1jcf that "env j ronrrtental corisjderatjors
demand!ng a rational arder of
Earth's reources are the best
guararitee that deve1opnert can be carried through on a
Supportable base" 30/.
Developing countries .iizh te, resch' the degree of
industrja.tzatjon nd ilfe standard of developed couri'rjes.
Atua1 ly,we believe that we can reach euiity o
fe level
rnuch nort su p erior if we are able t.o
for'u'ate aooicy of
d ve1opnet (not cni y of jro't y ') which wo'1d

53.
rviironmenta1 deterioration, Ujrowth ,ould practic1iy be zero.
Lhe cost of 2nvronmCnta1
Th.ts would hdppen, for exapie,
?rotection be tranitbed zotally to the prices of consumer
goods and cap , taT-. rerefore, we nust. 1-h 1,nk of a new concept
f econoric rawth which exreses a hrnor.y hetween development
and cor.serv&ion. ;.s affirmed bj ;eruld Cldein, "economic
crvice, or
growth neans reducinq scarc.tty of jOC(S an
reducini the feat of fuure scrircity. The world's assets
zhll be increased and so wjll human satisfictiori if the
scircity of goods such as cure air, uncontaninated water, or
the natural hecty of he r.u nvironrent wou be reced.
implies contributinj to economlc irowtb in a reter sens茅h
than the one of a mere expansion of coduct.on, wich in
itself, is no else than a mans to increas p individual dnd
conrnunitary satisfaction" 1/. On te other hand, it is not
probable that production (in the traditional sense) should be
underestirnated by the environment control measures, since a
healthy policy of erwironmental regulation would be a stimulus
for teChO1OJiCa1 research and for the fast developrnent of
antipollutio ri industries without forqetting thc yreat
multiplying factor of t".e high 莽overnmental inversion in this
it em.
-.he DP accepts the proposition of t'ichard L. Clinton
in the sense of resurrecting the original meaning of the term
"development" so as to give it an ernpirically determinable base
31/ "cesidad de Coopraci贸n y oordinaci6n interuherndrnentales en
la poitica del Control del ',:ntorno", in Ecologia yContaminaci6n.
Formas je Cooperaci贸n Internacional. (Buenos ires, Ed. Marymar,
i.)71) pp. 211-218.

54.
arid being ethically (or ideologically) neutral. This base
would consist in a supportable relationship betwéen a populatjon
and the ecosystem it forms part of". This type of development
has been named after Maurice 5trong, ecodevelopment. The
acceptance of an ecodevelopment policy implies, nevertheless,
a careful study of the different ecosystems on which rest Latín
American populations, and the rejection of the "demonstration
cffect" of consumer patterns in in rlustrialjzed countries.
According to Clinton, "since man in the rnost valuable resource,
ecodevelcpment must contribute to his development" 32/
How can the DP contrjhute to the formulation of
such poiicy
Aboye ah, through the meritioned research tasks,
which not only will contribute a profound knowledge of our
environment, but will also have the supreme objective of
forming a generation of vounc researchers, impregnated with
new values. In this sense, we behieve that history will make
a significant contribution to the better knowledge of the manenviconment relationship in Latín Anerica frorn a temporal
perspective. Even though it is possible to accept that
political history is still the backbone of historiographjcal
structure, ie have always thought that irnportant suhjects of
our past have rerriained in shadows. Ono such subject is the
reconstruction of relationship between a dynamic population
j/ "Hacia una Teoría del Ecodesarrohlo; Concepto Clave para Ubicar
el Papel de las Políticas de la Población en el Proceso de Desarrollo", in Comercio xterior, Vol. 26, NQ 1, January 1976, pp.
64-71.

55.
as in Latin America, and the continent's splendid geography.
In this historic frame, research on land tenure, urban
property, agrarian policy and the territory's colonization
attrnpts will contrihute to clarify sorne questions which 60
far have not everi been stated.
The formation of, a reg i onal conscience on the
matter shall also be restatedfron the poirit of view of the
DF. As expressed by the UNP research, 'the changes in the
relat.onship between man and his physical environment depend
greatly on the chanqes in the orqariization and ends of
5ociety .... (the) purpose (nf man) must be to construct a
society iritrinsically compatible with its environment". CurryLindah1 underlines the tremendous importance of international
cooperation in the re-education o ll our society by saying that
ll all people must be educated so that they may understand why,
in the long range, a strategy with ecological fundaments
wihl restore our world's environrnent. Without education we
cannot understand, or stimulate theunderstanding of the
appropriate use of natural resources at a national or global
scale 33/. The DP aspires â&#x20AC;˘to design pedagogical modeis which
rnay he understood quickly and easily by the new qenerations.
One of the rnost serious inconvenierices of current education on
33/ UNEP, Ibid.
Curry-Landahl's footnote is in his quoted book, Conservar para
Sobrevivir, op. cit. pp. 387-388.
Nevertheless, it must be understood that eclucational process is
slow and must compete disadvantageneously with the rt demostrat ion
effect' of consumer societies and with pseudo - values incorporated by the economic policies followed by most of our countries.
Recently, a high regional offlcer said that "in 1977 24 million
abalous were extracted frorn the III Region which seems excessive
(sic.). Nevertheless the produced incomed and the e!nployment
resulting from it, make it a very irnportant resource for the
Region" (La Tercera, July 11, 1978)

56.
environznent is .tne pedagogic process iself: it is much
siower than the destruction of ecosystems.
Thc previously—exposed rmatters have increased our
interest in contributing with the rcu1ts of our future
research to the planning of a strategy leading to satisfactory
regional and international ecoloj:Lcal action. We are convinced
that our responsibility does not enc l in the mere contrihution
to the advancement of the subject -atter, but we must also do
everything possible so that the conclusions to which we arrive
ay be well used at the level of government and international
organisms.
3.

ASynthesis of the Objectives and Purposes of the Darwin
Pro ject
Havinq outlined briefly sorne of the most important
problems and topics covered by the DP, it is necessary to
stress the perrnanency of our initial purposes, which have been
clearly exposed throughout the preceeding pages. We have
defined them unequivocally and this constitutes an excellent
opportunity to synthetize and punctuate what has been expressed
previóusly. Thus, the main ohjective pursued by the DP, and
which the Darwin Committee will try to rnaterilize, are the
foliowing:
a) The necessity of an international hornage to Darwin and
his work, en the 150th anniversary of the cruise of the
H.M.S. "Beagle". UndoubLedly, the voyage of the "Beagle"
is the most far n ous and important scientific expeditiori
in the historyof Humankind, and it constituted the basis
of The Origin of Species. A century and a haif has
elapsed since this great achievement; we oelieve it duly
necessary to halt and analize the Darwinian work and

57.

evzduate.its 'nitorical mpact.
b) An appeal to the international scientific community
to carry on a task of great rneanin. Just as it
happened wth :Y in 195"- . 53

bnlieve this shall he a

good opportunity for men of science from different
countries to contribute their experience arid knowledge ir
¿t

pacifiC and sirjni.icatve tak, vi liose extent towards

international understanding w11 he of great value. In
partic'lar, we steer this invitation to collaborate with
our project, towards mon of sc.ífmci, and towards whosoever
believe in scence as an agent for unity, social prores,
and human harmony. we also xtend this invitation to the
"darwinian' countri.es of the Southern Herisphere, (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, ecuador, Perú and Uruguay in Latin
America, in addition to Australia, New Zealand and South
Africa) plus tbe scientists from those nations which, for
one reason or another, cannot be left-out of the task we
have undertaken. we are referring here to the scientific
conmunities of England, 5pain, Portugal, France artd the
United tates. Charles Darwin's country obviously must
he present as well as the cerritories oF Spain, 'Trance
¿1nd rortuqal which were visited by the Encjlish naturalist,
who tudied the books and work.3 of the naturalists of
these countries. Finaily, the United States has acquired
a first rate experience and "know how" in problerns such as
environnental deterioration m2 tne fcri1tion cf
equilibrated development polictes, thich also preoccupy
our cornrnittee. Private enterprises and North American
volunteers cooperate in these tasks, either by financing
projecta or actively participating in their execution. Wc

58.
ust follow ths 2xar'ie.
c)

rt to Scientjfjc act j vj tj05 in Latjn Amer1lca
The developrnent of scientjfjc thouqrt in our countries
is plagued with Vicissitudes which sew to worsen as
times rj o by. In the scarce opportunjtjes where sorne
academjc excellence centers have heen formed, different
ajents have consoired to make its task impossible. As a
result, the so called "brain drin" has come about, which
is no other thari the legitirnate desire cf the scientist
to contrihute to the a dvancement of knowledge jo a more
propiticus environment. Such is the characterjstjc of
all meo of scierice. lo doubt the instjtutjonaljzatj.on
of science is indispensable as nucleus of a ll noderrijzatjon
processes, being this a historical task undertaken by ah
our countries. For this reason, our primarÂť purpose has
been one of creating stimulus and motivations to Latin
America science. We believe the DF wihl be a good
opportunity to help to achieve that goal. In the first
place, the DP is an ori g inal and u nexperienced initiative
which will undoubtedly impulse research jo such areas as
the ones which formerly integrated Natural History, and
which are not prioritary in our scientjfic developrnent.
In the second place, our research projects are rnostly
interdiscipljnary, which will contrihute powerfully to the
better knowledge of different methodolojies and techniques,
and to the fruitful and i000vating work in the frontiers
of differeot areas and disciplines, lo the third place,
the results of our task will be beneficial inasmuch they
wjhl be used in the impiementatjon of national and
regional developrnent plans. The DP is, in addition, a

59.

projcct which will easily reach public opinon, serving
in this way thr social legimitation of scientific
activities. Fnai1y, we are aware that one of the
gratest problems of regional scientific development has
en a scarce and interrnittent financement. The Darwin
Uaticnal Conittee and the rPgionai cor Twitt p eS to he
formed iri the future wtll try by all means at its disposal
to crete alternative channels of financement, utilizing
non-traditional sources of research support.
.:e are certain that at least our initlative wiU establish
the hasis fcr a new dlalogue hetween acaderiicians, men of
science, and spokesmen of the public and private sectors
of not oniy the region, but also of many countries of the
Southern Hemisphere. :n this manner, our desires to
enhance cultural integration of our nattons will be
fulfihled; undouhtedlv, it wihl increase mutual understand
incj ancl respect amonq the involved countries.
d) Effectjve contribution to the forrnulation to ecodevelopment
policies. Perhaps, the greatest challenge for a modern
scientist is to restore social trust in scierice, by
contributinq to the progress of society. le know it is
difficult -if not inoossihle- to make that the voice of
the scientific community be heard aho ye other pressu.re
qroups having greater social prestiqe, or with more means
at their disposal. Nevertheless, our first task shall be
the opening of expedite channeis of comrnunicaton between
qovernment authorities and men of science. Only in this
manner shall we achieve that our developmer.t pohicies
proposals be histened. Furthermore, since we manage more
variables for the formulation of these policies, we shall

L

60.
deer whjch criterja are the most adecuate. Thus, it is
prioritary to evaluate renewahle natural resources, know
well their rejeneratjor speed an capacity, and in order
te achieve this knowledqe, design criteria and priorities
for the stable, con q ruous and pauseless econoic qrwth
which will help us te achieve unsuspected goals of
Uevelopment. .econdlv, it is essential te create a

regional Data Bank Qn the studies already done and the
enes being conductod as for environment knowledge,

eva1uatn of rescurces n- contamjnatjon con'-rol are
concerned. There exists an a-iazinc amount of inforratjon

whjch is sub-utilized or disperse, for which reason it
will he necessr y to create reg.onal coordinaton mechanjss.
e) To protect native flora an faura. This is the prioritary
task of the DP, and it will surely attract easily external
financement as well as the decided support of great sectors
of puhlic opinion. Furthermore, throuoh this objective we
shall rnanifest cur most cordial :ooperation with ah
academic groups or the enes constituted by voluntary
citizens which throuahout

e world are fighting for the
cause of conservtion. Here, tne ob lâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; ct is to know
conprehertsjvelv eur zocloQical arid botanic-1 Species, examine
its hahitt and hopefully, establish its decjree of stahilitv
as a species. Not Ofliy must we protect -to the p oint it is
rationally possible-. existing species, but also we must
examine the possihle causes of the extinction of many
species Darwin knew and classified. The protection of
native flora and fauna requires to know the ecological
irnpact of different foreign species introduced in the
country during over 400 years. It is also necessary to

n
61.
carry out stuciies cor.trollirvj the detrroration of the
natural envror'ent. No doubt, this will be a bautiful
effort, fu1 of surpriss, frustratons and re—erkcounters
with th prodtqious nature of the Southern Hedsphere.
f) Addition to the formulatien of an ec pp pica1 cpnscienr
nd lov
' of ature in our countries. r,le have expresse
our earnest destre to face the pedaqogical prohlerns
iplied in the fornation o' a grater conscience (awareness)
of the dar. jer represnted by the destruction of environment.
:e nust face such problers through original techni-Tues and
focii, which ltad to partial or radical modificetion of
school curriculum, both in natural and social sciences. we
point out sone ideas which undoubtedly point to this
direction: First, the social arid historical cispects of the
environment's deterioration; second, the promotiorL of
museums, national parks and different extensiori activities.
rhrough these iffitiative, we shall increase the possibility
tomodify positively the relationship man—environment.34/.
34/

publication is a very good example of environmental
education. It is called Expedición of Chile, and it is written by
the Instituto cuan T'nacio ;.olina, and published by the Editorial
3abriela :istral.
—he maority of the Latir. American countries have rnade a great
effort towards creating national parks. As strident example of
what we just mentioned are Galápagos Islands which actually are
struggiinq desperately for surviving as ari unimitable lboratory
of the life process. The establishment of the research statiori
named Charles Darwin near Santa Cruz (1962) has helped powerfully
the cause of the Islas r ncantadas (as named by the Spaniards).
See Time, June 26, 1978, p. 50.
A chilean

62.
These are our principal aims. Uncoubted1y, as the proect
is being carrieU on, we shall structure step by step a
hierarchy of purpos e s and objectiv'-s different from the
une we have pointed out. Nevertheless, we trust that we
shall not leave hehind the aims with ';hich the DP hegan,
nd whose attairirnent as benefice is a constant stimulus
to our work.
4.

flow wjli the Dar-,-in Project be impiernented ?
To concrete the DP in ah its points and with ah
its complexities and scopes, would seem an incommensurate
drnhition, ciashin; opnlv with present-day Latin Ame ricen
and world situatior-.. \Ievertheless, the fict that a creat
arnount of research projects on similar topics and with similar
view points to those of tha DF have been carried out, seems to
deriy such position. The results of those investi rjations exist
and may he used. '?he sane can be jaid about the current
projects which are being carried out in Chile and in other
countries of the region, sorne of which we have mentioned
previouslv. Thus, the ohject is to use existing information
or modify it according to our own view points and perspectives.
In this enterprise we shahl not start from zero, hut shall base
the greateat part of our actions ori a reat masa of data,
results and existin0 material.
There is one more convinc!no arqunent: even if it
is true that our task is principally acadennic, and is theref贸re
dir e cted to the advancement of knowledae, it is no iess true
that it focusses Qn problems whose solution is urgent for the
survival of our societv. In other words, such studies must he
carried out, otherwise risking to atternpt in an irreversible
form against aur owri options and the ones of future qenerations.

fl
63.

The DP is not only a -ornige, or another comrnemoration.
Rather, it reiterates its c rctr as an enterprise of inter nationi cooperaticn, vital for the qreater understanding of our
ountries, for th- increcsing of th

u'ty of lfe of its

populdtions. :owever, we rieed to clarify as well as possible
the forrn in which the DP will he carric out. In order to do so,
we shall Jifferentieto hetween reserc; activities, the
foriiu1tion of pc. ltcies and extensior' •ctivities, tú refer then
to the possihle financernenb of these actions.
i) Reearch progrrns: It refers to the execution of ori'inal
¡):ojects, or he utli;'ction, r:iodificition, coordinatiori
arid/or coliahcra'on with finied projects or at the stage
of execution.
j i) Forrulation of policiesl T t dos

with

the use of the

resuts achieved from sorne of thc proposed research topics.
Such data will be used when compiling propos±tions for the
forulation of policis (educattonl, environmental,
develoomental, etc.) at a national and regional level. ThiS
t ,- , pe of iction is of open cooperrition with the different
regional nd international governrents and organisms. This
will need t',-,e creation of expedit comnunications channeis.

iii) ExtenSio acttons: A jrea r)at of our effort will be to
inform the cornrnunity and integrate the population into our
tasks. That shall he posible in the extent that
different extenson programs he irtplemented, such as the
filrnirtg of docurnentaries, expositions, text publications,
improvernent of rnuseurns arid natural parks, organized tourism,
etc. Any educational co.lahoration wifl also fali within
this frame: courses, prograrns, lecture cycles, curricula
planification, etc.

64.
rhese proarams will generate the foliowing actions:
a. .esearch Pro;rarns
- Collection of data arid elahoration of work hypothesis
- Field work
anc.sT1posia. (The work meetíngs would takP place
in any country participtin in the DPp procuring that
those rneetings be carried out in places visited by Darwin,
As Lar as Chile is concerne, we ha y o obtained the
logistic support from inportant national organisms to carry
out all sorts of Sc j entjfjc reunjons).
- Puhlications. The DP will procure as possible to publish
e works arising from our investi;ation. :;evertheless, it
is importnt to poirit out that all the participatiri:
scientists wihl have rnaxirnum freedon to publish the results
of their work.
b.

formulation programs
- C o llection of research results
- 'ormatjcn of Jata Bank
- Compilement of an Index of orivate and public organizations
participating in counse].ing activities, or decision makina
levels in dveloprnent pohicies.
- CornpileTPert arid compared analvsis of the existing
bihhiorraphy.
- Semiriars on the formulatjon of environmeri tal and
development pohicies which may ailow meetings of ah
represeritatives from all areas.
POlicy

c. ¿xt'nsion programs
- Facilítate organized tourism so as to allow the best
posible acquaintance of Darwinian sceneries.
- This type of tourism loes not require costly investrnents

proqr&rns, P-tc.
- puhlications.
Financernerit of the DT'
No doubt, the greatest difficulty in such 3ort of a
project is its financernent. we ha yo potnted out that the DP
is an

original initiative in the sense that it trascends the

Government aren and

decdedly

searches for the contest

and the

adhesion of different social groaps. 'e believe that this
characteristic of

the rj p

j ,iaLI e positive hecause

our

search

of econornic re5ourcs will not -e oriented only towards the
trditional sources of finart cerient but, on the contrary, we
will crcate new options by

pronotinq the

inter'st of groups

which, until now, have beert absnt from great cultural
erterprises, and '.hich rtow may help

cooperate with us.

our pilot project
for introducinq the

It is appropriate to ooirtt out that
-arned at irnplemntinq

the

natiortal proqrarn

pacific Sairnon into the XI and XI: ReQiorts- has fourtd resources
in art innumerable rturnher of non traditional instances, which
certainly stimulates

our optirnisrn

recjardiny the project's

Ă­inancing. Qn the other hand, sorne of the state agencies we
have contacted, in Chile as well as in other LatĂ­n

II

1

American

66.
countries, bave shown willingness to support this initiative
inasmuch their lossibilities will allow.
he actions of international cooperation and
tecica1 assistance are ust as iiportL as direct finarcjng.
We :ave been workinq in this sense during the last months, and
we can assure that the DP will courit on an optinu!n support
fror international org&nisns and scientific societies.
Finaily, we are convinced that certain extens..on
actioris couid autofinance thenselves, due to the increasing
interest of p'blic opinion for the topics and problems we shell
delve into. In the sar.e fashion, toe National Darwin Committee
shall he that of the elaboation of a tentative proqrarn of
actjvjtjes and events hetween 1.373 and 1986. Such proqrarn will
watch for toe execution of different research projects and
extnsjon activjtjes which will he carried out in Chilean
ter-itory, in which there should work acadernicians, scientists,
or organisrns of the same country. It must be understood that
the Program _even at its national level- not only welcomes
foreign individuals and entities, but the Comrnittee will also
encourage specialists and institutions from other countries to
particĂ­pate actively jo our projects.
The temporary orjanhzation of the Program is made
uo of three stages coriceptually well-deiineated:
a) National Sta-l e: This stage will he jo charqe of the Darwin
National Cornmittee which will counsel governnent authorities
and cc::cy 'r on the different actions and measures thought to
carry out the DE' in the Chilean territory. The Comrnittee
pretends to create as soon as possihle a private non-profit
corporation whose airrts will be to manaqe the Comrnittees
funds and irnplement the initiatives undertaken by this

P
legal organisr.
rrt-ms cf ari ex'.)re3s resolution of the Suprrne becree
.hich creited the omnittee, it has the power to

coiinun ^- c at-e with differertt public and :,­ vate organizattons,
ir. ::le ase1l as broaci. une of the first initiatives
udrtaken b" the Co-rittee will be to imu1se the cretion
of a regiofl3l cu. ission o cjath(-r represer.tativs of the
LJn Arr.ercari nations vísIted hj Darwin, and whic wjsh
. :otwitstindini reqiorial or irterto take part in the
niicnil ictivities proçramrne b y te future- orcisms
ich çó'.id ¿ise fron a spirit of international cooperatiO
the National Darrin Conr.ittee shfl. plan its activities fc
a sven year penad, stari.ncj on September 19. Such
activiti's will have the sane aims and obectives as we ",-,.ave
iready nentioned in section 3.

b)

It cejncde wth te 'aLienai s1.aqe as far
as time is concerne, even thounh a little late in strtin.
rhe progra;'rning of the reiioni activities wili he in carge
of a su;rariatioril organism created by the unanirnous desire
cf argentina, Brazil, Chíle, cuador, Perú and Uruguay to
ta<e ari active part in the DP at a continental scale. Thus,
erJior; :taje:

our first task -whtch we are already working at- shall be
to conact authorities, orgariisms, and state agencies in
chare of sci.entific and technological developrnerit, and
uriiversities and men of science of those sister-nations so
s to create a comnon enterprise: the Regional L)arwin
Cornnittee. In tbis case, our role will be li.rnited te take
thc initiative of this cali, and propose total or partial
acceptance of those purposes, oejeCtives and activitieS
already nentioned.

68.
o) Internetior.. 1 Sge: Ths ste will ebodv nitional and
regional activities. Te iridividuals arid institutions froni
Australia, Spain, United States, Frmce, New ea1and,
ortua1 an
cutb fcica are cordially invited.
e have
pronissory antecedents which allow uS to expect an active
participation fron non of science and frorn diverse private
agencies and ontitios o: countries
hese
in our project. As
in the eaioni..ta7e, we shall convocate an enlarged
neetjn of these natioris in Cile (prohahly throucjh the
Cultural r\t 4,ach3 of the ¿Las5 4 eS ',, ere) aiminy at settin
the basis of a consultive, coorindtinq, an(I executive
oryanisn whcre the participatincj countries will be
represented tnrought heir d±ferent international organisrns,
scientific associations, etc. Just as in the previous case,
we shall propose our ideas and projecis to this or9anism, so
they may he discussed at this level.
Proyrarirning, Coorciinating cn

xecuting

As far as the Nationa Staqe is concerned, the
programming, coordination and execution of the 1W is under the
direct res p onsjhj1jt: of the National Darwin Comrnittee and
:cICYT. 'evertheless, we hope that in a short time a private
corortjon will he created which will he in charqe of the
total execution of the project at its naticna.. level, which will
facilitate enormousiy the DE's management. The National
Conmittee dcts through a Council where different groups, sectors
and agercies of the countr» are represented. One of its first
tas's will be to crate assesory organisms and suhcornmittees,
whch will be in charge of the foliowing areas; History and
Social Sciences, volutive Bioloo y and Genetics, Earth Sciences,
:coiogy anc1 :onservaticn, Extension andjuh1ic Relations and

fl
69.

InterriCflai Affair.3.

will

be able to create new
-,he Darwin Comriittee
advisory orgariiSms if the work should require it. On the
vte differnt
other hand, t-.his commi.ttee will name ri
local persoralities to take part in our activitieS, this way
fulfi1i1fl cur deslre to m&<e the DF a national enterpr.se.
Ir,nediately arte.- te openinç cerertOny, the Executive
Secretariat will initiate a. series of contdCtS with diverse
university authoritieS, private enterpríse spokesrnerl, and
hicjh 7u1ic oFicia1s, invtinq the:. to participate in our
p'oect.
rinnally, we want to repeat. once more that our

ssentiailY academic, welcoming any criticism
character i
or suggestior, and wi'ling to share the tasks we have set or
which will he set for us in the future. Our arily desire is
to serve; by that we mean serving mankind's comrnon cause,
that is to say, peace and internatiOndi understanding and also
to serve science n( 13 scientists. As ir any academic initiative,
we pretend to pubiish the results of projects and seminars so
that they may he accessible to everybod'J ir the lest arnount
of time. :atural1y, we shall respect the scholar's absolute
freedom to publish the results of his wor ir the form and
by tre means which he wjll freely choose. Our innermost
concern, as we face the currer.t crisis of scierce, will compel
us to double our efforts to assure to the man of scierce bis
maximum right: the rijht to express himself freely.